If reports are to be believed, Dani Alves has agreed to join Manchester City. The Brazilian veteran will have the chance to reunite with his ex-boss, Pep Guardiola. With Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta having made their exit, City need to bolster their fullback region.
The English outfit have already strengthened their side heavily by sealing the transfers of Bernardo Silva and Ederson and a host of other players are expected to arrive at the Etihad Stadium. Pep had a pretty erratic campaign as City crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup. The Sky Blues have failed to swing results in their favour as this is the first time in Pep’s career that the Spaniard has finished a season without any silverware.
City have the cash to spend handsomely in the transfer market as the club is backed by the wealthy Arab owners. The club have been very involved in the transfer market for the last few seasons and have disbursed a large chunk of money to inject exciting talents from across the world.
Guardiola has his own philosophy of football and having played under him, Alves is well acquainted with his style of play. Despite turning 34, the Brazilian hasn’t lost the pace and can fire up the flanks with his marauding runs.
The Brazilian has won a lot of trophies in his career and will have nothing to lose and will be gearing up for a new challenge under his former manager. He still has the hunger in him and Pep would like to implicate that on the field.
Alves joined Juventus in 2016 after spending a trophy-laden eight years at Barcelona. The Catalans have failed to fill his void properly and had felt his absence in the last season.
However, Juventus won’t stand in his way apparently and a bid of £5m should be enough to bring the player under Guardiola’s fold once again.
Guardiola wants to implement an energy driven strategy which will allow the players to move forward with more freedom. The gaffer wants his players to play with more attacking intent and Alves can take the initiative.
He can pass the baton to youngsters with his immense experience and can help the upcoming players by mentoring them. Alves would be aiming to end his career on a high and working with Guardiola would hand him the perfect opportunity to make a glittering finish to his emphatic playing career.
