Man United and Man City's prospective lineups for the coming season are contrasted as both clubs pursue transfers.
Manchester City finished the season with three trophies, including their first Champions League title, while Manchester United ended their own trophy drought and finished in the top four.
This summer, Pep Guardiola will make modest changes to his Treble-winning Manchester City side rather than making major changes.
Guardiola does not need to make substantial personnel changes because they stay so far ahead of their Premier League rivals and are currently Europe's best team following their Champions League victory.
City have already moved quickly to address the impending loss of captain Ilkay Gundogan, agreeing a fee of £25 million plus £5 million in add-ons for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
While no official Gundogan announcement has been made, the capture of Croatia international Kovacic suggests that Gundogan, who is out of contract on June 30, is on his way after seven years, with claims he has now completed a Barcelona physical.
Bernardo Silva's future is also uncertain, with the midfielder still keen to leave despite agreeing to give City one more season last summer after failing to secure the move he desired.
PSG were the only team to make a solid bid for Silva last summer, but by the time they did, City had put a stop to the 28-year-old's departure.
PSG and Barcelona are also interested in Silva, but City have already lined up a replacement for defender Aymeric Laporte, who wants to move somewhere for more regular playing time.
Guardiola has picked RB Leipzig and Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol as the replacement for Laporte, with a formal offer likely in the coming weeks.
Kyle Walker, 33, and Riyad Mahrez, 32, are two other City players who could move, with the former desired by Bayern Munich and the later by the rich Saudi Arabia league.
Guardiola's reshuffling of his squad is likely to give Phil Foden and Julian Alavrez more game time, while the heart of City's powerful Treble-winning squad will remain untouched, with record-breaking 52-goal scorer Erling Haaland anchoring their assault.
Meanwhile, about a month after Manchester United returned to the competition that City had removed, they have yet to make a summer transfer move.
When United defeated Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford on May 25 to reclaim their place in Europe's best club competition, Eri ten Hag warned that they would need "better players" to compete there.
"We need more," Ten Hag stated. "Because we are now far away, we have a lot of work to do." We've made strides, but if we want to compete for the highest, we need better players. But I don't have much patience, which is one of my flaws."
Ten Hag's ambitions of expanding his squad have been harmed by United's extended ownership saga, as well as the Glazers' previous reluctance to spend large following Champions League qualification.
Ten Hag must make a decision on his goalkeeper, while the issue around David de Gea's contract continues. Regardless, a new number one is on the horizon, with Porto's Diogo Costa on his shortlist.
He also wants at least two outfield starters, and Ten Hag's striker shortlist includes Tottenham's Harry Kane, Napoli's Victor Osimhen, and Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund. Midfield targets are Chelsea's Mason Mount, Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong, and Brighton's Moises Caicedo.
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