The Premier League season is nearly over and Manchester City have had an incredible season. They have tucked the Premier League trophy safely into their trophy cabinet and it is time to analyse their season.
What went right? Nearly everything. They are the one of the most formidable teams that the Premier League has ever seen and now hold the record for the most goals scored in a single season. What went wrong? They do not have a Champions League trophy!
It is, thankfully, the positives that will be focussed on. After all, this Manchester City team are one of the best teams the league has ever seen. However, Pep will not be resting on his laurels. He would want a Champions League trophy for this club and this is why they are already pushing on with summer recruitment.
One name that has been linked over the last few weeks, is £53m-rated Napoli midfielder Jorginho, who seems like the perfect mould to slot into and enhance this Manchester City team.
The best quality about Jorginho is that he is a fantastic passer of the ball. He has an 89.4% pass completion rate in 31 appearances in Serie A this season.
This is an incredibly high percentage considering the position that he plays in and the number of games this has averaged over. He is not far down the list of best passers in the league and most of those above him are central defenders (who are in a position to lose the ball far less than deep-lying midfielders).
He is also not afraid to be physical for his team and he is a good tackler of the ball – he averages nearly two tackles a game when in a more attacking role and nearly four per game when playing more defensively. This is a similar record to Fernandinho’s in the Premier League.
He is the perfect sort of player to fit into a Pep Guardiola team. He is young, hungry and talented, and has the mental strength needed to be involved in a massive team, being involved in Napoli’s league challenge this year.
Fernandinho is not getting any younger and Pep needs a suitable long-term replacement. He should look no further than Jorginho and perhaps he should be Man City’s first signing of a busy summer!