Transfer news: Manuel Pellegrini admits the spending could continue despite having already spent £90m on new signings
City are looking to add further names to their squad having with both Pepe and Eduardo Salvio rumoured to be on the radar
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Your support makes all the difference.Not content with the £90m they have already spent on new players, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that the spending is set to continue as he looks to add his touch to the ever increasing squad.
Having only appointed Pellegrini this summer, City also bolstered their playing squad with the £30m signing of Fernandinho, £17m deal for Jesus Navas, £22m for Alvaro Negredo and a reported £22m deal for Stevan Jovetic.
But Pellegrini, who was speaking to reporters at a press conference in Hong Kong where City are taking part in the Barclays Asia Trophy, admitted that the spending could continue in an effort to boost the already talented squad.
"The club has spent money on important players, like Stevan and Negredo,” said Pellegrini.
"But we must remind you that last year here there was (Mario) Balotelli and (Carlos) Tevez, so we had to replace two very good players with another two very good players.
"So, we have the whole month of August and some days of July to finish completely the squad.
"It's not absolutely complete but it's very near to being complete."
Pellegrini has admitted his interest in the past of Real Madrid defender Pepe and well as Benfica’s Eduardo Salvio, though talks have stalled somewhat as they attempt to reach a deal with the Portuguese club.
City lost a centre-back in the form of Kolo Toure, who moved to Liverpool after his contract expired, and have yet to bring in a defender despite interest in City’s full-back Aleksandr Kolarov intensifying over the last couple of days.
But Pellegrini did not want to talk about possible additions to the squad, preferring to keep his cards close to his chest as he looks to strengthen his squad.
"I don't speak about rumours,” he said. “I think today we have the players that we need here.
"I just said that we will see what happens in this month and during August.
"But I'm not talking about specific names because it's not better for us, so I don't talk about Pepe or any other names."
City picked up their first pre-season win with the 1-0 victory over South China, and the Chilean manager is happy with their progress so far ahead of their second match in Hong Kong before they head to Munich next week.
Pellegrini said: "It's important to make a quick start and to win the first league game because if you lose ground it is difficult to recover.
"The English Premier League is a different league than what I have worked with before, but I am not concerned about that.
"Of course it is always good to have more time, but I hope the team will be prepared."
The only frustration so far for City has been poor weather in Hong Kong, with torrential downpours making training difficult and even leading to rumours the final matches could be cancelled.
Pellegrini said: "The conditions are difficult, but the players are working very hard.
"It is not exactly what we wanted, but we have been able to work in training and we must be optimistic."
So who could Manchester City sign before September 2?
Pepe - Pellegrini is a known fan of the central defender who fell out of favour last season under Jose Mourinho. With Carlo Ancelotti now at the helm, Pepe may get a second chance, although he is unlikely to return to the first team as a regular starter with Sergio Ramos and Raphael Verane at the club. The sale of Raul Albiol to Napoli and Ricardo Carvalho to Monaco has left Real a little short at the back, though they have 23-year-old centre-back Nacho coming through the ranks. Pepe could be tempted to seek first team football elsewhere, but with City only getting rid of one live-wire this year in the shape of Mario Balotelli, would they want to bring in another?
Eduardo Salvio - City have been linked with a £25.8m move for the right-winger, as reported by The Independent last week. Salvio is a similar player to Jesus Navas, so it would seem a bit of a strange deal to push for having just brought the the Spaniard into the squad, but reports in Portugal have confirmed that talks are on-going. City are likely to be more concerned about strengthening their defence, but a move for Salvio is very realistic and would take their summer spending spree beyond the £100m mark.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - The Swedish captain has expressed that he's happy to stay at Paris Saint-Germain after they signed Edinson Cavani from Napoli in a £55m deal, but it is difficult to see how the two can feature in the same team. The outspoken striker is unlikely to be willing to play second fiddle to Cavani, and could decide his future lies elsewhere if City make a bid for him. The move, reported as a possibility earlier in the season, is now an unlikely one though, having already seen Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic arrive to strengthen the attack.
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