Given Manchester City’s performance in the Champions League round of 16 against AS Monaco, it seems that Pep Guardiola’s outfit can only defeat opponents by outscoring them. The City defence looked extremely brittle as Radamel Falcao barged in at will and could have done more damage but for the missed penalty.
Pep Guardiola has always been a man of fluid play, where players can switch their roles as and when needed. The setup worked brilliantly in Barcelona because the former Catalans boss had some serious quality in his squad. In City, the team is yet to fully adapt to his philosophy and the manager is looking to add more quality this summer to get things exactly as he wants.
And according to latest reports, the latest player to be linked with a move to Etihad Stadium is Real Madrid star Isco. The attacking midfielder is not on good terms with Real Madrid and lack of playing time has forced him to seek a platform elsewhere with many Premier League clubs interested.
The 24-year-old has been linked with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea and many other clubs and a move to Manchester City will need something more than just Pep Guardiola at the helm. Chelsea are even said to have already been in touch with his representatives over a deal. But it is apparently Guardiola’s City who are in pole position to land Isco when the transfer window reopens in the summer.
City’s domestic league campaign has been shaky so far and a failure to qualify for the tournament next season could jeopardise this deal. The Spaniard international, who has been capped 15 times in national colours was reportedly close to joining Chelsea from Malaga before he eventually joined Real for a reported fee of £23m in 2013.
Isco has appeared 24 times for Real so far scoring five goals and assisting the same number of times. He registered two assists in Real’s win over Espanyol last Saturday. After the match, he told beIN Sports, “I’m calm. What worries me is to have minutes. A player’s career is small. I’m happy here and would stay many more years. From now until the end of the season, we will make a decision. It is my future at stake.”
He has only managed 11 league appearances and has fallen down the pecking order to Luka Modric and Kovacic. He will be out of contract with the Spanish giants at the end of next season and this is the exact moment for City to strike the hammer.
