Two years ago, Man City sold defender Jason Denayer to Lyon for £9 million, and the Belgian international has since gone on to turn heads in Ligue 1 – arguably becoming just as vital for the French side as Memphis Depay and Houssem Aouar.
Should City have sold Denayer?
Yes, overrated
No, better than Stones
Should we have sold him?
Denayer, despite impressing at international level, failed to establish himself under Pep Guardiola to be considered as Vincent Kompany’s eventual heir – spending the vast majority of his City career out on loan.
Celtic were the first side to give Denayer a chance to impress, moving to Parkhead on a temporary deal for the whole of the 2014/2015 season.
There, the 6ft stalwart impressed alongside future Premier League star Virgil van Dijk, but of course the latter man attracted more attention – resulting in his eventual move to Southampton.
Denayer, meanwhile, returned to the Etihad complex and endured two more loan stints at Sunderland and Galatasaray – eventually going on to pursue a move away for more first team opportunities.
Lyon came knocking and the rest is history, with the centre-back becoming a figurehead of their back three and one of the first names on Rudi Garcia’s team sheet.
The unsung hero…
According to WhoScored, Denayer has averaged a head-turning 94% pass success rate out from the back over 2019/2020 – making 3.2 clearances per 90 in that time.
These numbers eclipse any City defender this season, and now our ex-youngster could come back to cause us real problems.
While Aouar and Depay are undoubtedly the danger men going forward, Denayer is part of a defensive shape that has been hugely successful – conceding the joint-third least goals in Ligue 1 last season.
Valued at £10.8 million by Transfermarkt, this arguably doesn’t do justice for some of his performances this season.
What the pundits say…
Former Lyon head of scouting Florian Maurice praised his ‘good positional sense’ and his ability to reign supreme in defensive duels – something that can be a real headache to City as we look to break through a stubborn Lyon side.
“He has all the characteristics we sought,” said Maurice to the press via Goal.
“He can play in every role across the defence, he’s got game intelligence, a good positional sense, he’s quick and he’s powerful in duels.”
Final verdict…
While he won’t be the first name on everybody’s mind, don’t be surprised if Denayer plays a role tonight against his former club.