Having won six games on the bounce, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City seem to have picked up the form after a relatively slow start to the season. Presently sitting at the 5th place in the points table with a couple of games in hand, it’s almost certain that the Citizens have braced themselves for a title challenge.
Although the Spaniard has successfully addressed the defensive fragilities in his side, the lack of options in the striker’s department needs to be focused on. Besides signings, certain players in the present squad might be offloaded in the coming months, so here’s a list of 3 players that City should let go.
Benjamin Mendy
The French defender left AS Monaco to join Manchester City in the summer of 2017 for a reported fee of around €50 million. However, presently in his fourth season, Mendy’s struggles to remain fit continue as he has made just 61 appearances for the Citizens since his arrival, out of which only forty-two have come in the Premier League itself.
Even when the 26-year-old is fit to play, Pep Guardiola remains hesitant to hand him starts against the tougher opponents due to his inability to hold on to his own position throughout the 90 minutes, which leaves his side vulnerable to counter-attacks. Apart from that, the left-back has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately – often creating a heap of troubles for the Spanish coach.
With Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko doing relatively well at the left-back spot, Mendy should be allowed to leave in the coming months even if it results in the board incurring a huge financial loss.
Eric Garcia
A product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, defender Eric Garcia has shown glimpses of huge talent, and it’s beyond any doubt that the Spaniard can grow into a world-class defender if provided with regular game time somewhere else.
Despite regularly featuring at the end of last season, Garcia has been struggling to get consistent game-time this term due to the presence of summer signings Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake. Besides, John Stones has been in fine form lately whereas Aymeric Laporte will soon return from a minor injury. Given the set of options Guardiola has at the back, it’ll be fair to say Eric Garcia should be set free as he won’t be getting an opportunity to impress anytime soon.
Moreover, it was not long ago when Fabrizio Romano reported that the 20-year-old centre-back turned down a contract renewal as he wants to return to his former club at the end of the season.
Sergio Aguero
Having bagged just one goal in nine appearances across all competitions, it seems as if the Argentine striker’s age is catching up to him now. A series of injuries has kept the 32-year-old sidelined for the majority of this season; however, the Citizens have continued to find the back of the net on a regular basis without him.
Nonetheless, it seems as if parting ways with Aguero is the only way City can move forward as it’ll pave the way for new suitors.
Speaking on Stadium Astro, former Manchester City goalkeeper David James expressed his thoughts on the recent reports that link Aguero with a move to the Parc des Princes.
“I would let him go.” – The ex-English international stated.
“This isn’t taking anything away from him, he is a legend at Man City and always will be. There comes a point though when you are relying on him and can’t move forward. They have proved that they can move forward without him. If you can get some money for him from PSG, especially considering the amount of time he has been injured, take it. It will be a fond farewell and I’m sure there will be a number of suitors that would like to come to Man City to fill his position.”
