Pep Guardiola’s decision to start Bernardo Silva out wide against Leicester City and have Ilkay Gundogan fill the void in the engine room meant Manchester City had just one midfield option among the substitutes in Saturday’s 1-0 win.
Where will Manchester City finish in the Premier League this season?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th or lower
Stefan Ortega, Scott Carson, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Sergio Gomez, Rico Lewis, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden were on the bench, so Guardiola was overstocked with defenders and lacking creativity if he needed to make a change.
It could lead Pep to shop for a midfielder in January as his City squad is bereft of depth. It just takes one injury for Guardiola to be without cover, so he can’t afford to gamble on Gundogan, Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva staying fit for an entire season.
Kalvin Phillips is set to return in the coming weeks and will be an alternative to Rodri, but City need a creative option, especially if Gundogan is leaving next summer. And although the 2022 Qatar World Cup will make it hard to negotiate for players in the tournament, the final is on December 18, so they’ll have returned to their clubs when the January transfer opens.
Jude Bellingham fits the bill and is on City’s shortlist, but he’ll cost a tidy sum and Dortmund won’t give him up without a fight midway through the season. It might take more than £100m to procure his signature too, so he might be out of reach. Guardiola needs a talented but affordable alternative that improves his squad.
In other news, did Pep Guardiola make mistake dropping Phil Foden against Leicester?
The Vital Network is unique from other football content providers as all the sites are run by the fans, for the fans. We are looking for a writer to join our Manchester City site. If you can write well-constructed, thought-provoking opinion pieces alongside reporting on current events and breaking news then I want to hear from you. Email paddy@snack-media.com.
Can you name these Man City players from the 2000s? Test your knowledge, take the quiz and challenge your friends and family to beat your score