If recent reports are to be believed, Borussia Dortmund are set to lose their Spanish defender Marc Bartra to Manchester City or Manchester United very soon. The two Premier League clubs of England are chasing the Spanish player and at the age of 27, he could prove to be a vital asset for both clubs.
The La Masia product developed into a first-team player under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. However, given the excellence of Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique, he failed to break into the first team on a regular basis. The beginning of the 2016-17 season saw Bartra move to Germany to join Borussia Dortmund.
Bartra is a technically sound defender and has a good sense of ball distribution from the back. However, he is physically not sound enough to hold off the sturdy number nines in the game and this could see him suffer should he move to the Premier League.
As for City, Pep Guardiola’s first choice centre-back John Stones’ recent injury, that ruled him out for weeks, had Manchester City worried and it is believed that they will be looking for further additions at the back in January to provide insurance for the latter part of the season. Pep believes the squad is too thin to challenge for all four trophies and bringing in more talent is necessary to keep City competitive.
The situation at City is now booming. Pep has formed a team that is well on its way to conquer Europe should they keep up their current form. The Manchester City team is heavily loaded with attacking talents from all across the globe and under Pep’s careful tutelage the players have gelled well together to form a team that is producing nothing but swashbuckling score lines in their favour.
City has already scored 70 goals this season in a space of just six months in the league alone and is hungry for more. However, upon close inspection, it can be seen that there are still a few cracks in that City team Pep would like to identify.
With an ageing Kompany becoming more and more injury prone and Otamendi not really Pep’s favoured choice, the defence will need some work. As of now, he is stuck with the error-prone Argentine for now but knowing Pep’s pursuit of perfection and City’s healthy wallet, they would like to diagnose and treat the illness before it spreads.
Given City’s approach to problem-solving is to open their deep wallet, it won’t be surprising to see City go out for a new centre-back, a ball playing defender who can partner Stones for years to come. It is in this light, that City will be chasing Bartra, who might be a perfect partner for Stones.
