When Manchester City hired Pep Guardiola to take over in the summer, little did they expect that he would make so many changes to the team. They have benefitted hugely though, as City have shown to be a very attacking team that, on their day, can demolish any opposition defense thanks to Pep’s method and ways.
Guardiola brought in a raft of signings in the summer namely Noltio, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Claudio Bravo, John Stones and a few others. Sensational Brazilian talent Gabriel Jesus, all of 19, was also signed but will join the club only in January, as per terms of the deal agreed. Manchester City looked to be in the title race and are one of the strongest contenders to win the Premiership come may.
Going forward, City have been excellent and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Aguero, Gundogan and Sterling have all sizzled. Pep won’t have any reservations about their attacking, but it’s on the defensive front that he has a few issues to deal with. The ageing legs of Zabaleta, Clichy and Kolarov have made a few mistakes and added to the recent arrival of Stones, Pep’s defense does not look as solid as he might have liked it to be.
Manchester City will have particularly have problems at full back, as Sagna, Zabaleta and Glichy are all out of contract in the summer. Whereas Kolarov will perhaps exit a year after that, when his contract expires. Having said that, let’s have a look at a few transfer targets that Pep should consider signing in order to bolster not only his defence, but his squad in general.
Alex Grimaldo
The Spaniard is a former graduate from the La Masia academy. With Pep having also been at Barcelona, he will have known the talents of Grimaldo who Barcelona, in all fairness, shouldn’t have sold. Benfica picked him up for just 1.5 million pounds last January. His asking price now could be 30 times of that, so that puts things into perspective. Grimaldo honed his skills in the Barcelona academy and all the values Pep believes in have already been installed in the now 21-year-old, so he shouldn’t have a problem fitting in at Manchester City.
He would also be a good upgrade on Clichy, who has been found wanting on more than one occasion this season. Grimaldo has 2 goals and 4 assists to his name this season, quite a healthy contribution for a full back and this is a sign that he is an attack-minded full-back.
Sead Kolasinac
The Bosnian defender has been a consistent performer for his team Schalke in the Bundesliga for a couple of years now. Kolasinac is also a very versatile player, being able to fill in at either center back or left back. He has predominantly featured for Schalke as a left back as this allows him to showcase his abilities going forward. He featured for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2014 World Cup and such experience and exposure will surely hold him in good stead. With City also needing some cover at centre back thanks to Stones’ inconsistency and Kompany’s bad injury record, Kolasinac could be a very handy signing. And unlike a few others, his asking price won’t be that high and City should jump at the chance to sign him up.
Alex Sandro
Another left back that has seen his name linked with Manchester City recently, the Brazilian has been a fine player for Juventus since moving from Porto. The formation Juventus have been playing has allowed Alex Sandro to showcase his ability to the fullest and like every other Brazilian fullback, he likes to bomb forward with great effect and link up with attackers. He has 6 caps for Brazil and is seen as a decent player in the Brazilian ranks and is perhaps only behind Real Madrid man Marcelo for the left back slot in the Brazil team. City would benefit hugely and they might have to sign him soon, as his release clause is set at only 30 million euros for now, but it has been suggested that the Old Lady could extend his contract, which means his release clause could go up too. City definitely needs to act fast to get their man.