Manchester City‘s successful appeal against their Champions League ban has given Pep Guardiola the green light to press ahead with his summer transfer plans.

Guardiola is ready to raid the transfer market in a bid to put Manchester City back on top of the Premier League after failing to keep pace with Jurgen Klopp’s relentless Liverpool this season, seeing the Reds streak to the title with seven games to spare

City’s underwhelming 2019/20 Premier League campaign laid bare the defensive frailties in Pep Guardiola’s squad. As lethal as the Citizens are going forward, they are porous at the back.

Even though Pep Guardiola’s priority this summer will be the left back and centre back, the Citizens could be in the market for a winger to replace Leroy Sane, who completed an initial €49m move to Bayern Munich.

According to Guillem Balague, Manchester City’s first-choice transfer targets this summer were ‘happy’ to join the club no matter what the outcome was of the CAS appeal.

As per the Spanish football journalist, the Citizens have identified a ‘very talented, young player’ to replace Leroy Sane, that will leave his current team and join the club. This transfer was going to happen ‘no matter what’ due to a contractual situation at his current club.

The Club want a left-footed centre-back to become a third choice option, and a right-footed centre-back to become a starting option alongside Aymeric Laporte. Kalidou Koulibaly is ‘certainly’ on a list of four potential centre-back recruits.

While the ban would not necessarily have affected their ability to spend, it would have no doubt reduced the size of the kitty available, and targets may have thought twice about joining without the prospect of European football.

Now though, Guardiola has few obstacles in his way, and City can use their riches to capitalise on a market hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

In reaction to Guillem Balague’s claim shared on Twitter by City Xtra, Man City fans have expressed their thoughts and opinions

It’s either Ferran or Bailey.

— saul (@saul_434) July 13, 2020

Reckon it’s Ferna Torres

— Omer 🇸🇩 (@KunMerchant) July 13, 2020

Ferran torres most likely

— Mohad (@mohamedamiin2) July 13, 2020

His contract expires in less than 12 months. Valencia are open to negotiating because they don’t want to lose him for free and they need the money because they’re unlikely to qualify for European football

— ⚡️🇧🇼 (@Priceless_Silva) July 13, 2020