In the last two summers, City have postponed much of the rebuild; two of the six recruits in that time are now in the band of 30-somethings. And while Guardiola said it was harder to be stable defensively without a quartet of centre backs and two holding midfielders, arguably he only has one: Mateo Kovacic does not covet that role.

Rough waters threatening to engulf City have strengthened resolve of proud Catalan as rare January signing is sanctioned

Pep Guardiola has denied that a key factor in Manchester City ’s run of five consecutive defeats is that nine of his squad are aged 30 or older, with the manager pointing to how the same players were Premier League champions last season.