As Manchester City look to eventually gear up for the 2020/2021 campaign, one position that arguably needs to be debated is left-back – an area of the pitch where the Sky Blues have had to improvise and adapt for years.
Once the ageing duo of Aleksandr Kolarov and Gael Clichy headed out the Etihad exit door in the summer of 2017, we immediately got to work – signing then-AS Monaco full-back Benjamin Mendy in a staggering £52 million deal to sure up an arguable achilles heel in Pep Guardiola’s side.
Who do you prefer at left-back?
Angelino
Benjamin Mendy
Oleksandr Zinchenko
However, not working out as planned due to a succession of injury issues, manager Guardiola has had to deploy makeshift options at left-back over the last two seasons – with natural midfielders Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph both previously tasked with filling the hole.
Now, even though Mendy has featured fairly regularly this season, it’s debatable whether he can truly be relied upon in future – with one option seemingly staring our boss in the face.
Angelino, who re-signed for the Sky Blues on a permanent deal last summer after a great 2018/2019 campaign with PSV Eindhoven, was given just four Premier League starts to make an impression – with the £15.75 million-valued Spaniard playing the majority of his minutes in cup ties.
Going out on loan again in January to RB Leipzig, Angelino has impressed, starting 11 Bundesliga games under Julian Nagelsmann and revitalising his season.
Indeed, the 23-year-old’s form could be an indicator that there is still a future to be had at City – with Guardiola describing him in the past as ‘incredible‘ and director of football Txiki Begiristain also singing his praises.
Likened to Bayern Munich defender Juan Bernat, we may need to reconsider Angelino as a future solution to the left-back area – even if Mendy is fit for now.