Manchester City Plan Further Squad Additions
By David Crook
The Squad Positions to Reinforce
City have already made two incisive dealings in the transfer market to add to their squad, acquiring Ferran Torres and Nathan Ake in recent days. These are examples of how City intend to do business in hunting down and securing targets.
City hope to not face the disappointments of the last few summers when they missed out on key targets at the last moment such as Maguire and Jorginho.
Even with the addition of Torres and Ake there are still 3 key squad positions for City to fill and some commentators have suggested a further 5 players could be added if the correct market conditions materialise.
The immediate priority is to secure a right sided centre back as a long term partner to Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake. The idea here appears to be to recruit a natural defensive leader experienced at International level, capable of immediately slotting into our side.
There is no secret that City’ s primary target here is Kalidou Koulibaly at Napoli and that there is much posturing with regards to the price. Whether a deal is done is not yet clear but he appears to be the main choice.
Quite how he would cope in the Premier League given the gentler nature of the Italian league is unclear to me and instead I will have to rely on the extensive experience in the City scouting department.
There are other targets identified too in case the dealings with Napoli become too difficult. These are thought to include Milian Skriniar.
The second key position has been a problem throughout the tenure of Guardiola: Left back. Whilst Benjamin Mendy has recovered form, his ability to sustain top level performances every 3 days is uncertain. Cover at least is required, perhaps even a new first choice.
Here much media focus is upon David Alaba of Bayern Munich and whether he has the desire to play again for Guardiola. City have other targets in mind too, and Ben Chilwell has been extensively scouted in recent months.
The final key position is that of striker. Aguero is our figurehead but enters the season moving into a veteran phase and troubled by injury. City know a replacement must be secured soon and should the right player become available then a move could be made.
Securing the services of a top flight world class striker would not be cheap and here is where the majority of that transfer kitty could be spent. City have been linked with Lautaro Martinez at Milan but whether he could be developed into a real bona fide talent is unclear to me.
For me, I would rather attempt to sign Harry Kane or even Patrick Aubameyang, either of which would be worth banter points alone on social media! Just imagine!
Whilst those are the primary areas of the squad, other positions and players may be available which could cause spending to accelerate quickly.
A back up goalkeeper to replace Claudio Bravo? That is a very real possibility depending upon Aro Muric and Zack Steffen in the coming weeks to prove they are capable.
A midfielder to replace David Silva? Is it time for a sneaky Kai Havertz bid?
A right back to replace Joao Cancelo? Jamal Lewis at Norwich?
A defensive midfielder to support Rodri? Thiago Alcantara?
Much will depend upon the tactical tweaks by Guardiola in the season ahead. Will we switch to three at the back and two defensive midfielders? Will we play with any strikers?
In any event, the months ahead look very exciting to be a Manchester City fan!