Hugo Viana faces crunch Pep Guardiola talks after transfer U-turn

Not for the first time this week, Hugo Viana has been reminded that leading Manchester City's recruitment is not as straightforward as it may seem. The rewards for getting it right are among the biggest in the business, but so are the risks.

Monday brought news that plans to sign Florian Wirtz have been shelved amid concerns over the price of the deal. Bayern Munich have been confident for weeks that they would get the Bayer Leverkusen star and there was confusion around their trip to the UK last week.

Tuesday saw Kevin De Bruyne's farewell followed by Pep Guardiola saying that he has made it clear he doesn't want a bigger squad next season because he doesn't like having to leave players out of it.

This is not just one or two either, but potentially closer to ten players that will have to leave if that is the case to accommodate the three or four new faces that are set to add to the January arrivals.

Something big will have to give, and as Viana takes over from Txiki Begiristain after the Club World Cup he is going to have to find a path that keeps the manager happy without compromising the quality of the squad. In doing so, Viana will have to decide which of those matters more.

Keeping Guardiola has been the priority for City ever since he walked through the door, and it is testament to the environment that they have built around him that he will enter his tenth season in charge in August. He is still backed as the best possible coach they could have, so the idea of him being seriously unhappy is alarming.

At the same time, he was wrong last summer about the squad. He said that no rebuild was necessary and the events that have followed, however unfortunate, have drastically proven him wrong.

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