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Pellegrini excited over 'strong' strike force

Manuel Pellegrini is confident in the strength of Manchester City's attacking options © Getty Images

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Manchester City Manuel Pellegrini believes his strike force is one of the most potent attacking line-ups in the Premier League.

City have not been idle in the summer months, spending spent close to £100m in signing Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk, Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo from Sevilla and Montenegro striker Stevan Jovetic.

Yet it is his new front men which Pellegrini believes have been attracting the most envious glances from rival managers.

"Yes, I think so, it's very strong," Pellegrini told The Sun. " I know Negredo very well from the Spanish league, so it was not a surprise for me the way he played.

"I think we have very good strikers with [Edin] Dzeko as well. They can play together or we can play one of them with Jovetic or [Sergio] Aguero.

"We have four very good strikers and that's what you need if you play in the Premier League and Champions League as a competitive team."

However, Pellegrini, who watched his team beat South China FC in the Barclays Asia Premier League trophy in Hong Kong, said he was not just focusing on the club's attacking force, but was preparing the whole squad for the upcoming campaign.

"We are not just preparing a team, it's important to prepare the whole squad and then we will see who plays," Pellegrini said. "We must be ready from the start of the first match against Newcastle and the team must play as we want.

"I'm sure we will arrive at the first match the way I want. I think that a big club like Manchester City always has a lot of pressure.

"It's very important to play under pressure. The players play better under pressure so we're not scared by that."

Pellegrini also said stars David Silva, Aguero and new boy Jovetic could be in line to face Sunderland in the Barclays Asia Premier League trophy final.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd