Manchester City have agreed a deal in principle to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in a £20m move, with the England centre-back set to become the 25th defender to sign for the club since Pep Guardiola arrived in July 2016.
According to Transfermarkt, the transfer will take City’s total spending on defenders to £1.379 billion since Guardiola’s appointment.
City have also signed the most defenders of the traditional ‘top six’ clubs in that period, with Liverpool completing permanent deals for 10 defenders, Arsenal 19, Chelsea 20, Manchester United 15 and Spurs 17.
It is a strategy that has paid off for Guardiola, with City winning six Premier League titles, a Champions League, two FA Cups, four EFL Cups and the Club World Cup in his nine-and-a-half years in charge.
Six defensive transfers failed to make an appearance, but Yan Couto, Pedro Porro and former Arsenal centre-back Pablo Mari were all sold for profit.
City had looked to bring in Guehi, 25, following injuries to Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol – with the latter having surgery after breaking his shinbone.
The injuries left Guardiola with Abdulkodir Khusanov, Nathan Ake and Max Alleyne as his three central defensive options ahead of a packed schedule of Premier League, Champions League and domestic cup fixtures.
Here are some of the defenders Guardiola has brought to the Etihad…
Transfer fee: £77m Premier League games: 81 Premier League goals: 11 Clean sheets: 25 Trophies: 4
The Croatian defender is Guardiola’s second-most expensive signing after Jack Grealish, and joined the club the season after City won an historic Treble.
Equally adept at playing at both left-back and centre-back, the 23-year-old has become an integral member of City’s side, and only missed one game in the Premier League last campaign.
Gvardiol has shown an eye for goal, notably scoring five times in seven games in the 2023-24 season, but is set to be out “for a long time” after breaking his shinbone in January.
Transfer fee: £65m Premier League games: 164 Premier League goals: 5 Clean sheets: 63 Trophies: 10
The Portugal international was signed from Benfica by Guardiola in the summer of 2020 and rapidly improved a defence that had not recovered since losing club captain Vincent Kompany.
Dias won the Premier League Player of the Year award after leading City to the title in his debut season, only conceding 32 goals in total in the league that campaign.
The 28-year-old added the Champions League to his list of honours in 2023, starting in defence as City beat Inter Milan to earn their second European trophy.
Send us your questions
Transfer fee: £47.5m Premier League games: 178 Premier League goals: 10 Clean sheets: 54 Trophies: 15
The England centre-back has been a mainstay of Manchester City‘s defence since Guardiola made him the world’s second-most expensive defender when he was signed in 2016 from Everton.
The 31-year-old has struggled with injuries in recent years, but played a key role in City’s Champions League triumph.
Stones is City’s longest-serving player, but could reportedly leave this summer when his contract expires.
Transfer fee: £45m Premier League games: 212 Premier League goals: 3 Clean sheets: 72 Trophies: 17 Sold to: Burnley (£5m)
The England right-back moved to the Etihad from Tottenham in Guardiola’s second season after Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna were let go.
The 35-year-old became an ever-present in City’s side and was twice named in the Premier League Team of the Year during his time in Manchester.
Walker left the Etihad last summer to join Burnley following a loan spell at AC Milan, with City opting for Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis as their options on the right of defence.
Transfer fee: £40m Premier League games: 100 Premier League goals: 6 Clean sheets: 21 Trophies: 10
The former Chelsea defender joined City in a £40m deal from Bournemouth in the same summer as Dias, playing either at centre-back or left-back.
Ake has had an injury-hit spell at the Etihad, but showed his best form in the Champions League-winning campaign – starting in defence in the final in Istanbul.
The Dutchman has made just three starts in the Premier League this season after coming back from foot surgery.
Transfer fee: £57m Premier League games: 121 Premier League goals: 8 Clean sheets: 50 Trophies: 13 Sold to: Al-Nassr (£23.6m)
Guardiola spent a significant outlay on bringing the Spain international to the club in January 2018 from Athletic Club in a £57m deal.
The left-footed centre-back struck up a partnership with Kompany and later Dias, winning five Premier League titles in his six full seasons at the Etihad.
The defender was sold to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr at the start of the 2023-24 season following the signing of Gvardiol.
Transfer fee: £60m Premier League games: 98 Premier League goals: 5 Clean sheets: 41 Trophies: 5 Sold to: Al Hilal (£21.2m)
The Portugal right-back or left-back was brought to England in a £60m deal which saw Danilo go in the opposite direction for £34.1m.
After a slow start to life in Manchester, Cancelo burst into form in his second season. His best spell came in his third season when he contributed seven assists in the Premier League.
However, following a disagreement with Guardiola, the full-back was sent out on loan to Bayern Munich in January 2023 and he spent a season on loan at Barcelona before joining Al Hilal.
Right-backs: Matheus Nunes (bought for £53m), Danilo (bought for £26.5m, sold for £34.1m), Pedro Porro (bought for £11million, sold for £17m), Yan Couto (bought for £4m, sold for £25.3m), Issa Kabore (bought for £3.9m)
Centre-backs: Manuel Akanji (bought for £15m), Victor Reis (bought for £29.6m), Abdukodir Khusanov (bought for £33.6m), Philippe Sandler (bought for £2.6m, sold for £0), Juma Bah (bought for £5.1m), Ko Itakura (bought for £1m, sold for £4.3m), Pablo Mari (bought for £200,000, sold for £1.5m)
Left-backs: Benjamin Mendy (bought for £52m, sold for £0), Rayan Ait-Nouri (bought for £36.3m), Sergio Gomez (bought for £11m, sold for £8.4m), Angelino (bought for £5.3m, sold for £15.8m), Oleksandr Zinchenko (bought for £1.7m, sold for £30m)
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
