Manchester City undoubtedly started the Premier League with one of the most star-studded midfield in the competition. While it was pretty explicable given Pep Guardiola’s playing style mainly relies on that area of the field, untimely injuries to Ilkay Gundogan and Fabian Delph more or less ruined it for the newcomer. And if not for club legend Yaya Toure, City would well be seeing themselves among the midtable clubs by now.
Pep Guardiola has understood the hard way that the Premier league is way more hectic and unpredictable than any league in Europe and even having the likes of Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Leroy Sane and Fernandinho would not add enough depth to the squad.
And as per reports, the manager is looking at Bayern Munich player, Joshua Kimmich. The central midfielder has been tremendously impressive in the little chances that Carlo Ancelotti has given him, scoring four times and assisting once; but the manager still seems to have doubts about his abilities.
And City would be looking to make maximum use of the situation as they plan a whopping £40-million swoop for the German international. Guardiola will reportedly get a £200 million transfer kitty to spend on players this summer and the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager sees Kimmich as part of his plans.
After a shocking Champions League exit in the round of 16, Guardiola is reportedly planning a large overhaul to the side, which would include a 15-player mass exodus from the club led by the title winning skipper Vincent Kompany. Kimmich got his big break under Guardiola during his stint with the German giants and the two share a cordial relationship. And his versatility is definitely one of the biggest reasons for his preference.
A central midfield by nature, Kimmich can also play quite flawlessly in the centre-half as well as full-back position; something that Guardiola didn’t find in the current crop of City players. Although it would be difficult to lure him from Bayern, his decreasing playing time could help City big time. Kimmich has played only 42 minutes in his last five games.
However, Ancelotti’s long-term plans were recently revealed by Rummenigge. The manager sees him as an ideal candidate for the retiring Phillipe Lahm. He stated, “We have big plans for him in the future… He will be, quite literally, our successor to Philipp Lahm. From next season, he’ll get more and more minutes. That’s Carlo Ancelotti’s plan, at least.”
While it sounds promising, Kimmich will surely have second thoughts about staying with the club next season. The Stuttgart academy product moved to Bayern in 2015 after spending a short stint with RP Leipzig. He has been capped 11 times in national colours since debuting in May 2016.
