Update: Man City can solve two problem positions with one summer transfer News

Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has been moved inside in recent weeks with three central defenders injured

Manchester City may spend big in summer but they’re not about to abandon Pep Guardiola’s principles. The manager likes a small squad so that he doesn’t have to disappoint too many too regularly on a matchday, and that is likely to continue.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “The club is working but we are not going to have 45 players in the squad.

“It’s unsustainable so we have to see. Except Kevin, all the others have contracts and we will see how they are and how they behave.”

At the same time, the manager has been reminded this season that the most crucial element of City’s recruitment is signing players who are robust enough to play twice a week without breaking down. In a squad where too many have not been available for enough games, most of City’s centre-backs have question marks over their names.

Manu Akanji (29) has only made 20 league appearances this season, John Stones (30) has made 11 and Nathan Ake (30) has made just 10. The signing of two young defenders in January was an admission that City could not go on relying on the same defenders when they were so often injured.

It feels like Ake and Stones are most under the microscope and will do well to both be part of the plans next season, yet at the same time Guardiola will not want to be without four recognised senior centre-backs. A replacement will have to be found.

That person may already be at the club though in the form of Josko Gvardiol. The Croatian is a centre-back by trade and has looked far more comfortable when he has played there in recent matches, however much he made the left-back spot his own.

City have longstanding interest in Juventus left-back Andrea Cambiaso that is expected to translate into a bid in summer. The 25-year-old would be capable of coming straight into Guardiola’s side and playing every week, although he would have to prove his fitness after a year peppered by injuries.

Bringing in a player of that quality and experience would come at a premium price, but even spending £60m or £70m would look good value if it manages to tie up two positions in left-back and centre-back. With Cambiaso in place, Gvardiol could become one of the centre-backs while also covering on the left to give cover at full-back and allow for Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis to continue to progress.

That flexibility would also keep Guardiola happy knowing that his squad was not being inflated by too many because several players were being asked to do a number of different roles. Having had so much success with strong centre-backs, the answer to City’s current issues could be adding a left-back that fans have been craving for years.

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