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Cape Town - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will reportedly be handed a massive £300m transfer kitty at the end of the current campaign, according to club insiders.
The Etihad boss has already spent around £420m during his trophy-laden four seasons in charge, and is ready to dip into the coffers again to keep his men competing with the top teams.
It is understood the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach has met with his employers to discuss potential targets for next summer, with the Catalan tactician readying himself for seeing out the final year of his contract.
He feels the Citizens still need to replace veteran midfielder David Silva, who is leaving at the end of this campaign after a decade of service, despite teenager Phil Foden waiting in the wings.
Leicester City and England playmaker James Maddison has been watched in recent weeks, along with his defensive Foxes' teammates Ben Chilwell and Caglar Soyuncu.
Those three players alone would easily set the Manchester giants back the best part of £200m-plus, having received excellent reports back on the King Power trio.
In addition, City are considering throwing their hat into the ring for Borussia Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho, who quit their youth ranks in 2017 and would cost them another £100m, although the Premier League champions do retain a 20 percent discount option.
Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour recently sold a 10 percent stake in the City Football Group for £385m to American equity giants Silver Lake, with plans for the money to be re-invested across their global stable of clubs.
A £650m kit deal with German sportswear firm Puma also came on line this summer, further boosting the coffers the boss will have at his disposal.
City and Germany winger Leroy Sane remains a target for Bayern Munich and a sale would certainly offset a large chunk of any lavish spending, with a £120m valuation placed on his head.
Guardiola's team currently trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 14 points and a third successive title looks increasingly remote but Guardiola is already planning for the future, armed with the type of financial backing few clubs can match.
- TEAMtalk
