It was back in 2016 when Pep Guardiola walked into Manchester City and it was the onset of a titanic clash in England with managers like Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger and the two new entrants, Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola, all lined up to face each other. One could also not ignore Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur as well.
It saw the Premier League become the fiercest battleground as the world waited to see who would come out on top. As it turned out, Antonio Conte made the biggest impact with Chelsea. A slow start at Stamford Bridge was quickly forgotten as the Italian blew everyone else out of the water by guiding Chelsea to the pinnacle of the Premier League in England.
However, while everyone else had been beaten, Guardiola’s defeat was a little deeper than simply losing out on the title race. He had set into motion a system, a plan that would reap him results in the long run.
As the Spanish maestro had shown in all his previous projects, the man is a strict follower of discipline and even at the Etihad, he had set the ball rolling, which took time to come into effect. As the second season waltzed in, everyone saw the true genius of Guardiola.
However, although City ended up with the league title and the Carabao Cup, the limited squad depth saw them lose out on the FA Cup and thrashed by Liverpool in the Champions League. His options in the wing were limited and still are unless he can bring in reinforcements.
This is where the report of Wilfried Zaha linked with a move to City gets interesting. The former Red Devil is in the form of his life and will certainly prove to be an ideal squad player for City, given the rigorous nature of the Premier League. Zaha’s signature is also being chased by Liverpool and Chelsea who will have to cough up £50m to land the English star.
Zaha has improved leaps and bounds from his days at Old Trafford and has become a real attacking threat at Palace. He is the attacking spearhead of the team and his mazy runs from the wings have brought Palace many a goal this season.
At City, he can certainly fill the role of a backup winger behind Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane and add to the squad depth at City. However, he signed a long-term contract with the Eagles last year only, which implies that any suitor will have to face an arduous task if they have to lure him out of Selhurst Park in the near future.
