The weeks since Manchester City's squad returned from the World Cup have been eye-opening for Pep Guardiola, who has called into question the body language of his players and questioned their motivation after a period of remarkable success.
A "happy flowers" organisation is how Guardiola described City after the 4-2 win against Tottenham last month. His post-match blowout did little to reawaken the spirit of champions and the decision to ditch Joao Cancelo, without a replacement coming in, at the end of the January window is a sign that the winds of change are blowing through the Etihad.
Perhaps the Premier League's decision to charge City with 115 alleged breaches of their financial rules will be the spark to relight the fire in Guardiola's squad, but it will be a temporary uplift. Instead, the refresh was expected to come this summer.
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Cancelo is considered unlikely to return from his Bayern Munich loan spell and there could be more departures. Ilkay Gundogan is out of contract and Bernardo Silva has been seeking an exit for several summers. Guardiola has sensed this squad needs an injection of energy and City need fresh legs in midfield, at least one new full-back and probably a winger.
But completing the overhaul that began in attack a year ago is now going to be complicated after Monday's seismic announcement from the Premier League. City are bullish and optimistic they will clear their name, just as they did when UEFA banned the club from the Champions League, but in the short-term, it will present a problem when it comes to recruitment.
The case will now go to an independent regulatory commission and while an outcome before the end of the season would be ideal, the scale of the charges and the likely legal arguments could delay that. It could drag on beyond the summer and into next season, especially if either party lodges an appeal.
So the challenge for City is to convince players to come to the Etihad, despite the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the club. When there is talk of relegation in the air, that is going to be complex. Club chiefs can lay out their own case to prospective signings, but there is likely to be some nervousness over the ramifications. Players will sign up for a club competing for the Premier League and Champions League, but that could change in an instant.
Midfield is the key area for the Blues this summer. Contract negotiations with Gundogan, 32, could become more complex after the Premier League charges, Bernardo's future is always uncertain and Kevin De Bruyne turns 32 in June.
Jude Bellingham is the midfielder that every elite club with a whole in that area of their squad wants this summer, but City will face competition from Real Madrid and Liverpool, at least. Bellingham will have his pick of clubs and the charges hanging over City will make it more difficult to press their own case to sign the England international.
The Blues have been here before, of course. They were hit with a two-year ban from European competitions in February 2020, but lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). They pressed on with transfer plans during that time, convinced the outcome would be in their favour.
CAS overturned the ban in July of that year, two weeks before a transfer window that was delayed due to COVID opened. With their name cleared, City signed Nathan Ake, Ferran Torres and Ruben Dias.
City will probably want to do more business than that this summer, but there's no certainty they will be in the clear by the time window opens in early June.
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