Watch out Premier League, Man City 2.0 are coming: Embracing attacking chaos over control, Rodri's return and defensive additions set to underpin Pep Guardiola's rapid rebuild

City's collapse was as swift as it was shocking. Rodri's majestic influence over Guardiola's team may have been underestimated, but there was little reason to believe that they would completely fall apart a matter of weeks after the Spaniard suffered a likely season-ending ACL injury in September. After all, City had won an unprecedented fourth-consecutive title just four months previously.

However, City lost six of their eight league games between November 2 and December 21 to plummet from first to seventh in the standings. Never before had a Guardiola side experienced such a drastic dip in form - and the incredibly concerning thing was that the Catalan looked completely incapable of arresting the slide.

Consequently, there was even talk that a visibly stressed Guardiola might even resign a matter of weeks after signing a contract extension until 2027 - and it certainly didn't seem beyond the realms of possibility. After all, Guardiola had taken a sabbatical from coaching after the pressure had become too much for him during his fourth and final season at Barcelona, when the Blaugrana were dethroned as champions of Spain at Barcelona.

He had also walked away from Bayern Munich after three successive seasons of Champions League disappointment. Guardiola, remember, had taken over a treble-winning team at the Allianz Arena, but didn't manage to get them back into a single European final in spite of the arrivals of top talents such as Thiago Alcantara, Xabi Alonso, Robert Lewandowski, Arturo Vidal and Joshua Kimmich.

Despite the Etihad extension, then, there was a legitimate question mark over whether Guardiola had it in him to go again. We got an emphatic answer in January, though.

By the midway point of a calamitous campaign which cast considerable doubt on City's hopes of finishing in the top four, it was clear that Guardiola was in dire need of help. Luckily, his Abu Dhabi-based employers provided it in abundance.

City spent a whopping £180m ($223m) during the winter transfer window - more than the other 19 Premier League clubs combined. Only Todd Boehly's Chelsea had splashed more January cash during their historic and utterly insane spending spree of 2023.

Having erred badly by failing to sign a replacement for Julian Alvarez during the summer, City belatedly addressed their lack of an alternative to - and support for - Erling Haaland in attack by signing Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt for £59m. It also came as no surprise to see them pay £50m for Porto's Nico Gonzalez, given Mateo Kovacic had failed miserably to fill the Rodri-shaped hole in midfield. City's injury issues in defence also resulted in a combined £63.2m outlay on two young centre-backs in Abdukodir Khusanov (20) and Vitor Reis (19).

Guardiola is supremely confident that his four most significant January signings - teenager Juma Bah also arrived at the tail end of January from Valladolid - will eventually make a big impact in the Premier League. And, in fairness, some have already made their presence felt.

Obviously, Khusanov gained immediate attention for all the wrong reasons by dropping a clanger on his debut against Chelsea, but he's barely put a foot wrong since, and the Uzbek was immensely impressive in the 1-0 win at Spurs.

"He travelled with no wash bag, no nothing," an incredulous Guardiola told reporters after the game in north London. "He arrived to play football and when you talk to him, he just laughs, all the time! But he's a reliable player, so fast, so quick and, with the ball, the quality of pass is extraordinary and he has the ability to break lines.

"Of course, he has to improve, but he's 20, so young. But I've seen players with a lot of pace and he is one of them. People adore him; he's silent, works, no complaints, so humble, and I’m pretty sure our fans will love him too. It's not easy to overcome his first, negative impact against Chelsea. But he was so calm the days after, and the games he's played recently have been really good."

Gonzalez has slotted even more seamlessly into City's starting line-up, which is hardly surprising, as he and Guardiola speak the same language - in every sense.

The 23-year-old Spaniard was schooled at La Masia and made his professional breakthrough at Barcelona before attracting Guardiola's attention with his performances at Porto over the past two-and-a-half seasons.

City may have been ultimately overwhelmed by Real Madrid in the Champions League, and outfoxed by in-form Liverpool at the Etihad last weekend, but they've undeniably started to look a little more like their old selves with the Rodri-like Gonzalez pulling the strings in midfield, and Guardiola believes that his two compatriots could form a formidable midfield pairing when the Ballon d'Or winner eventually returns to full fitness.

It is Marmoush, though, that has the most potential to thrive within Guardiola's revamped team. The Egyptian's quick-fire hat-trick against Newcastle remain his only goals to date for his new club, but he's looked encouragingly lively and versatile in nearly each and every outing so far.

At the very least, he appears destined to provide Guardiola with another exciting option in attack - something he lacked during the first half of the season, when it became obvious that Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo are no longer the forces of nature they once were.

Indeed, it would be a major surprise if all three Premier League legends are not moved on this summer, along with Jack Grealish, a once-promising player who has become more renowned for his exploits off the field than on it since joining from Aston Villa from a still barely believable £100m ($126m) in 2022.

As for Phil Foden, it seems very strange to say of last year's Premier League Player of the Season, but there's now some degree of doubt over where exactly the academy product fits into Man City 2.0. As was made painfully clear at Euro 2024, Foden is not comfortable operating out wide, which is a major problem for him now that it seems that Guardiola wants more orthodox wingers like Savinho and Jeremy Doku operating on the flanks to cause opponents problems with their pace and dribbling skills.

When it was put to Guardiola during the week that his team might have to become more direct to avoid becoming left behind in the Premier League, he dismissed the idea that he might radically alter the style of play with which he's enjoyed so much success. However, it felt significant that there was no mention of Foden, who is still only 24, when he talked up City's next great team after the win at Spurs.

"The three in attack (Doku, Savinho and Erling Haaland) are the future," Guardiola told reporters. "Nico when Rodri comes back will be the future, and, of course, Khusanov, as you have seen tonight. Josko [Gvardiol] is young, too.

"Listen, Bernardo, Gundogan, Kevin and the other ones are really important for us. But it's a question of time. The young players and maybe new acquisitions that the club will make in the summer time have to lead this club for the next few years."

Indeed, even more reinforcements are on the way, as City's spending is far from finished. The overdue overhaul is going to be as comprehensive as it will be costly - because Guardiola has learned a lot of harsh but valuable lessons this season. He's already publicly stated that he wants a far bigger squad next season to cope with the injuries made inevitable by an increasingly congested calendar.

There will also be an evolution in attack. Guardiola has admitted that the likes of Doku and Savinho need to improve their end product, but he seems determined to harness their unpredictability. After prioritising possession and precision for so long, he now appears ready to take more risks and introduce a little more anarchy into City's play to deal with what he says himself is a Premier League now packed with braver and more adventurous opponents. A little more control perhaps, to create a lot more chaos.

There's no denying that City's immediate future remains shrouded in uncertainty, particularly as we're still awaiting the outcome of their court case with the Premier League, and there are never any guarantees when it comes to signing so many new players in such a short period of time. But don't be at all surprised if a free-spending City return next season with an even more direct, offensive and terrifying team than ever before.