Various reports suggest that Manchester City are looking to land Portugal international William Carvalho as a replacement for Yaya Toure. Although Toure has just returned to the starting lineup and City’s midfield has gained composure upon his return, the 33-year-old is nearing his exit at City. If excluded from the Champions League knockout stages next month, the Ivory Coast International is likely to demand a departure.
Carvalho has been a midfield sensation in the Portuguese League and his current club, Sporting Lisbon, is surely not looking to sell their one of their star players in the middle of the campaign. The Portugal international has a €50million (£42m) buyout close in his contract, which tells that Lisbon would not sell him for less.
But, for cash-rich City, that amount is quite trifling and will definitely not be a resistance in landing the 24-year-old. Carvalho is not a sudden emergence. He has been heavily linked with Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and many more clubs for the past few seasons. It is also understood that his representatives held preliminary discussions about a move to the Premier League next summer in Barcelona on Thursday.
Although Carvalho has scored no goals this season, he has created seven chances and two assists in 11 appearances. He has completed 750 passes with a pass accuracy of 88%, of which 80% were forward passes. He wins 55% of his average duels, which more or less makes him a complete anchorman who is adept both at the defensive and the offensive duties.
Carvalho has drawn much praise for his incisive passing and ability to find space behind the open defence. He is difficult to stop at times when with the ball. He is still young and would mature further under Pep Guardiola polishing his heightened skills.
Carvalho would be a brilliant addition to the Premier League. He has the height and physique to ease out his team from difficult situations. When placed alongside the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho, Carvalho will take City’s star-studded group to another level.
City revealed their latest signing of Brazilian kid Gabriel Jesus on Thursday, who was signed for £27million deal to make a switch from Sao Paulo to the north-west of England.
Despite having some of the best players in the world, Manchester City have struggled at times to get into the groove, winning matches only by a thin margin against weaker teams. Getting Carvalho will definitely make that a rarer occurrence.
