Pep Guardiola 'planning major Manchester City clearout'

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola watches on during his side's Premier League clash with Hull City at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly planning a major overhaul of his squad during the summer transfer window.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly planning a major overhaul of his squad during the summer transfer window.

Guardiola fell to the heaviest league defeat of his managerial career at the hands of Everton on Sunday, with the 4-0 loss at Goodison Park leading the Spaniard to rule his side out of the title race.

Ten points is currently the gap to league leaders Chelsea, and the defeat has also convinced Guardiola to make substantial changes to his squad at the end of the current campaign.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Guardiola wants a complete overhaul of his defence with two new full-backs and two new central defenders, in addition to another goalkeeper, midfielder and striker.

Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand has emerged as one of Guardiola's top targets despite having only signed a new five-year deal at St Mary's last summer.

Bertrand's teammate Virgil van Dijk is also thought to be on Guardiola's radar, while Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez are more high-profile targets for the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.

As many as 13 players could be set to leave the club during a mass clearout, with Willy Caballero, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas all out of contract at the end of the campaign.

Aleksandar Kolarov also only has 18 months remaining on his deal, while City are thought to be open to offers for Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony, all of whom are currently out on loan.

Injury-prone captain Vincent Kompany could face an uncertain future too, while Fabian Delph is expected to depart having failed to work his way into the first team under Guardiola.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks on during his side's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on October 2, 2016
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Chelsea21171345153052
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs21136243142945
3Liverpool21136249242545
4Arsenal21135348222644
5Manchester CityMan City21133541261542
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd21117332201240
7Everton219663223933
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom218582828029
9Stoke CityStoke217682733-627
10Burnley2182112331-826
11Bournemouth2174103037-725
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham2174102635-925
13Southampton216691926-724
14Watford2165102336-1323
15Leicester CityLeicester2156102434-1021
16Middlesbrough214891722-520
17Crystal Palace2144133040-1016
18Hull City2144132045-2516
19Sunderland2143142040-2015
20Swansea CitySwansea2143142349-2615