Manchester City handed major personnel boost ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool tests | OneFootball

Kolo Toure has returned to Manchester City duties after the bereavement of his late father in Ivory Coast a few weeks ago.

Toure has been a vital addition to Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff in the summer, when the appointment of Hugo Viana as City’s sporting director sparked a major shuffle of personnel on and off the pitch at the Etihad Stadium.

Viana signed off on the notable departures of Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, James McAtee, Scott Carson, Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan in his first summer at City, who also witnessed a revamp of Guardiola’s backroom staff in the backdrop of the Catalan’s most challenging season in England.

City failed to challenge for the Premier League title last term and resorted to a third-place finish behind Liverpool and Arsenal, crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lost the 2025 FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

The first-team squad saw seven new arrivals against a flurry of permanent and loan exits, with Guardiola also looking for new assistants to work with after the trio of Inigo Dominguez, Juanma Lillo and Carlos Vicens departed the club in the summer.

Guardiola added Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure as assistants, with James French joining in as set-piece coach. Toure initially came on board on a trial basis for Manchester City’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States.

However, after making a strong impression on Guardiola and the first-team squad, Toure was offered a permanent role in Guardiola’s backroom staff as Manchester City navigated a period of transition on the pitch after a significant revamp of the dressing room.

More so, Toure’s time coaching in the Manchester City academy has seen him become a popular figure in the dressing room and a revered individual, who has worked very closely with the likes of Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly in their development days.

Toure’s father Mory Touré passed away in the second-half of October and the former defender travelled to Ivory Coast to attend his late father’s funeral and cope with the loss with his family and friends back in Africa.

Guardiola offered his best to the Toure family and revealed that Kolo remained in touch with the Manchester City first-team squad and coaching staff during his brief time away, with the Ivorian now back in England after bereaving his late father.

Speaking in the days prior to Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth at the weekend, Guardiola confirmed that Toure is back to regular duties as the Blues rose to second place in the Premier League table and maintained the pressure on league leaders Arsenal.

Toure has drawn huge praise from Guardiola over his contributions in his early months at the Etihad Stadium, with Manchester City also giving the Ivorian ample time to spend with his family in an undoubtedly difficult moment for the Toure family and friends.