How bright is Man City's future? Assessing Guardiola's squad - ESPN

Pep Guardiola insists there's reason for optimism at Manchester City, despite a troubled campaign that has seen the defending champions reduced to battling for a place in the top four.

Following Wednesday's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, a result that boosted their hopes of playing Champions League football next season, the City boss laid out what he believes should be a «bright future» at the Etihad Stadium. (The victory moved them into fourth place, a point above Chelsea, with 11 games remaining.) «The young players and the new acquisitions maybe the club will do in the summertime — in the next transfer window — have to lead this club for the next few years,» he said.

They echoed his comments after Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. «I saw a bright future,» Guardiola told the BBC. «Other than Kevin [De Bruyne] and Nathan [Ake], they are the future of this club in the next years, with others who will come in future windows.

Guardiola and new director of football Hugo Viana — who has replaced the outgoing Txiki Begiristain — are facing a summer rebuild as they plot their way back to the top. There's a core of established stars to build around and some exciting young players with huge potential, but also decisions to be made on some of the old guard, including Kevin De Bruyne, who is out of contract in the summer.

Ahead of Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie vs. Plymouth Argyle (stream LIVE, Saturday, 12:15 p.m., ESPN+), we take a look at the state of City and whether the future is as bright as Guardiola believes.

One nice thing for City is that they're not starting their rebuild from scratch. Erling Haaland has signed a mammoth contract that runs through 2034, and Phil Foden, who has already racked up more than 300 club