A detailed report has outlined the reasoning behind Manchester City’s pursuit of Hugo Viana to replace Txiki Begiristain as sporting director in the summer transfer window.
City are set for a busy transfer window after a disappointing campaign that saw them fail to mount a challenge for the Premier League title, whilst exiting the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage courtesy of a 6-2 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid.
Injuries and a significant drop in form have marred the current season for the four-in-a-row Premier League champions, who remain in the running to go all the way in the FA Cup ahead of a semi-final meeting with Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
City are also fighting to finish in the Premier League top five with seven games to play after a goalless draw away at rivals Manchester United saw Pep Guardiola’s side drop to sixth place in the table.
The upcoming summer will witness major upheaval in the first-team squad – led by Viana – who will replace Begiristain as director of football after the latter’s 13-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, having joined in the fall of 2012.
Kevin De Bruyne will leave the club at the end of the season and there remains uncertainty over the future(s) of a host of first-team players approaching the final 12-24 months of their respective contracts, such as Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno.
Paul Hirst of Times Sport has reported this week on the reasoning behind the acquisition of Viana – formerly of Sporting Lisbon – as the man to replace Begiristain. “Just look at Sporting’s record before (Viana became sporting director] and afterwards,” said a Manchester City source to The Times.
Moreover, it has been revealed by figures close to the Portuguese that during his time in Portugal, Viana regularly appeared on the touchline at first-team training and was highly involved in the day-to-day affairs of the club.
City signed Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis for a combined fee of £181.5 million in January to bolster Guardiola’s depleted squad and help the Blues’ chances of ending the season on a high.
However, all major decisions on signings and contract of current first-team stars are reported to have been put on a hold until Viana officially started work in Manchester earlier this week – having been spotted at Old Trafford alongside Manchester City officials at the derby.
