I am sure Guardiola has already decided which players to keep and which to let go, some of the players who have just been brought in are starting to show their quality and that is very beneficial for Man City. The squad rejuvenation process is still ongoing, Guardiola will try to bring in several more players to increase the strength of his squad.
This season can be said to be over for Man City because several prestigious titles have disappeared from their sight, next they are trying to finish in the top four and form a new force to compete again in the title hunt next season.
I hope Guardiola gets it better this time around, he should have learned from his mistake and what happened to Man City exposed the club and showed that people praised it too much. People thought every angle you play in Man City has an equal or better replacement, but injury and lack of feat this season have proven that wrong. However, your last part makes the most sense, Guardiola's side might have bought, planned to dispose and even bought more later, but this season is gone, I don't know how Man City can finish the first or second position again, so let's save the higher praise in action till then, that's if he ever got it right again.
Position 1 or 2? It is very unworthy for Man City to occupy after what they have shown this season. Even at most I have to say position 3 for them is much more worthy. Because there are still teams that are more worthy to prove their struggle for 1 season. Liverpool and Arsenal still hold positions 1 and 2. That is the fact because apart from Arsenal process that always fails but they are still able to be a team that consistently occupies second place in the standings. Man City does not need to hunt for the EPL trophy, let Liverpool win it and most importantly Pep Guardiola has tried to overhaul his squad at the end of the season. So that next season will be much more ready to return to the hunt.