Vital Man City were critical of Pep Guardiola’s decision to let Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling leave in the same transfer window, even though they’ve been replaced by Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.
Jesus and Sterling have been terrific servants for City and leave big shoes to fill, so it’s a big risk to let two prolific attackers leave. Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko have been moved on too, so there’s been a sizeable turnover in personnel.
Guardiola feels he has enough in his arsenal (Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer) to cope with the attacking departures and Paul Robinson says City have nothing to worry about.
He told Football Insider: “I don’t think they will regret it. Pep is so good at refreshing his squad at the right time. He never rolls with the same squad each year.
“The three players he has allowed to leave played a lot of games last year but they were coming to the end of their contracts. When you look at the players they are bringing in, they are world class.
“When you compare them like for like, they have probably improved. Haaland is better than Jesus. Kalvin Phillips gives them another dimension. I don’t think they’ve been weakened. I think they have strengthened.”
Haaland was prolific at Borussia Dortmund and Alvarez was prolific at River Plate, but players sometimes need time to settle. With how many chances City create in games, however, attackers do tend to thrive.
The Sky Blues scored 99 goals from 38 Premier League games last season, so it would be surprising if Haaland and Alvarez struggled. And with Kalvin Phillips signed to replace Fernandino in midfield, Robinson believes every position has enough depth.
In other news, Paul Robinson says ‘confident’ Erling Haaland could lead Man City to success