Three players Manchester City can choose from this January Transfer Window
Nine games into the Premier League campaign and Manchester City sit seventh in the table trailing the league leaders Arsenal by six points. After parting ways with Italian Roberto Mancini, the “Noisy Neighbours” or the Blues of Manchester appointed the former Malaga man, the Chilean Engineer in Manuel Pellegrini to steer the billion dollar ship in the right direction. He was immediately given a money vault to choose from and bring any player of any price tag he wanted to.
In came the likes of Fernandinho, Negredo, Jovetic amongst others in a bid to reclaim their lost crown from their neighbours. However the start hasn’t been quite velvet yet. Defeats to Cardiff City and most recently against Chelsea in the Premier League however should force the manager to push the panic button as of yet. The Blues do have the ammunition and firepower to go all the way and it will be interesting to see how they adjust to the situations as the season prolongs.
However their defence has certainly come and now firmly under the microscope albeit their stoppage time howler against Chelsea last Sunday. Joe Hart looks inexplicably out of form and his mistakes are costing the team badly, and if reports from Guardian are to be believed, the England number one might be dropped against Norwich City on Saturday. Hart, 26, has been under pressure after a string of high-profile mistakes, to which Pellegrini said, “tomorrow [Saturday] you will know the XI that starts”, which perhaps is more than clear that Hart will find himself on the bench and Costel Pantilimon will take his place in the starting eleven. Even though City might be on the look for keepers, which include Real Madrid Legend Iker Cassilas or Barcelona’s Victor Valdez, I don’t feel they require a Goalkeeper as of yet.
Captain Vincent Kompany’s absence has also hurt the team dear thus exposing the heart of City’s defence which looks to need at some reinforcements. While Matija Nastasic is a very bright young defender, but he does have those odd days at the office which costs his team. Demichelis looks far from the EPL material type, remember he was cut open time and again by a rejuvenated Fernando Torres last Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
While Joleon Lescott might now have endured full faith of his manager, we certainly have no clue on Micah Richards. Thus someone like Diego Godin would have perfectly fitted the bill but he extended his contract with Athletico Madrid till 2018. So Porto’s 22-year-old French international, Eliaquim Mangala might just be the answer. He was a part of the defence which conceded only 14 times in 30 matches last season.
In midfield they have sometimes lacked the creativity we would expect from David Silva and with Yaya Toure and Fernandinho at the back of him, PSG’s Blaise Matuidi looks the perfect choice. A brilliant ball retainer and exceptional passer of the ball, his contract is on the verge of ending next summer, which means City can pounce on him this coming January.