It is no secret that Manchester City’s perennial tryst with difficulties in their defensive line has spread to the centre of the pitch and the Sky Blues are really struggling to put together a team which is befitting of one that someone of the calibre of Pep Guardiola might want to put out for matches.
The Catalan has been recently criticised and put under the scanner for the displays of his team and their inability to kill off teams below them and wilt against teams in and around them has been especially anticlimactic for everyone who was waiting with bated breath for the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
There is no noticeable change from overall in the team and their confidence from last season, which was one of the worst for City in recent times. This is something which will have to be dealt with and one of the more important changes which need to be brought about is in personnel.
Guardiola had the likes of Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta in midfield at Barcelona and last week against Everton, he had to deploy a 32-year old Pablo Zabaleta and a 33-year old Yaya Toure in midfield. While the manager cannot be expected to always have the support of a world class players to back his tactics, City are in clear need to upgrade. Mostly at the back and in the midfield.
The midfield does not look like a Pep Guardiola midfield by any means. Fernandinho has impressed but his latest antics have befuddled many. Yaya still has class but the legs are too heavy after such a long time while Fernando and Delph are backups at best. Gundogan was brought to add a touch of class but his injury made sure that wasn’t going to happen.
And hence recent reports linking the Sky Blues with a move for Sporting Lisbon powerhouse William Carvalho does not surprise anybody. A number of players had leapt onto the radar of the European powerhouses after the Euros in the summer. One such player to have leapt onto the radar of a couple of English Clubs is William Carvalho, after his impressive performances in Portugal’s Euro triumph where was a mainstay in their team, shielding the back-four with all his diligence and honest hard-work.
Carvalho will shore up their midfield and his latest improvements as a player who can venture forward with the ball when required will help a much-needed balance in the centre of the field. He lends a physical presence to the midfield and will toughen up the centre of the pitch for City. With Fernando and Delph looking likely to make exits in the coming months, a replacement in the form of Carvalho is very much on the cards.
