Aymeric Laporte recently suffered a major injury setback, and he is unlikely to play anymore this year. A recent report from Daily Mail suggests that Pep Guardiola would ask the Manchester City board to bring in a new defender in January.
The club also failed to replace Vincent Kompany in the summer. The Belgian might have not played regularly in the last two seasons, but he managed to make a significant impact whenever Guardiola used him. With John Stones already missing some games due to injury, it is no surprise to see Guardiola wanting a new centre back to bolster his squad.
Here are three options which he can go after.
Nathan Ake
The Bournemouth defender has emerged as a mainstay for the Cherries at the back in the last few seasons. The Dutchman came up from Chelsea’s academy, but given the competition there, he wasn’t able to make the cut. Now at the Vitality Stadium, he has regularly been playing, and he seems to have all the attributes which will make him a decent addition to City’s squad. Ake is comfortable playing out from the back, and he is often calm and composed in possession.
Defensively, he reads the dangers well and is a committed and robust defender. City will be a big step up for Ake, but he wouldn’t be guaranteed game time once Guardiola has all options available. So it remains to be seen whether the centre back would take the plunge or not.
Toby Alderweireld
The Spurs man has entered in the final year of his contract and January could be the last month when Tottenham might be able to sell him for a fee. It was surprising to see the Belgian staying put at the London club for another summer even though a contract extension is yet to be agreed. Everyone is already aware of Alderweireld’s qualities as he is an established and proven player in the Premier League for quite a few years now. There is no doubt that he would be a quality addition to Pep’s team in January.
Filip Benkovic
Instead of bringing in a marquee signing, Guardiola can also look to make a shrewd but a substantial addition in the form of this one time Croatian international. The Leicester City defender is behind the pecking order at the club, but he did exceedingly well at Celtic on loan last season.
Premier League will indeed be a big step up from that quality, but the 22-year-old has looked matured beyond his years. Some Celtic fans compared his performance with Virgil Van Dijk. Benkovic even has the experience of playing in the Champions League with Dinamo Zagreb, and he could be a decent backup choice for Guardiola.
