This summer could see several of Manchester City’s stars leave the club and a number of fresh faces, including the likes of Paul Pogba, fill the ranks at the Etihad.
While their fantastic start against Manchester United on Sunday showed how unplayable Manchester City can be when performing at their best, in recent weeks the reigning Premier League champions have looked a shadow of their former selves.
Manchester City have a squad that on paper rivals the best there is. With the likes of Kompany, Toure, Silva and Aguero at the club it’s amazing to think City have lost 6 of their last 8 games in all competitions. While many fingers have been pointed at the manager for City’s dire form recently, it really is the players that have underperformed. We’ve all seen what they can do and they simply haven’t done it consistently this season.
Many have highlighted the age of the squad as being something of serious concern – the average age of the Manchester City squad is just shy of 29 years old. With an ageing starting-eleven that has barely changed over the last few seasons, it’s likely there will be an exodus at the Ethiad this summer.
The likes of Nasri, Toure, Milner and Dzeko have all been heavily linked with moves away from the club and this could be a blessing in disguise for City. It will encourage the owners, who aren’t shy of a bob or two, to look for first-team replacements, not fringe players.
Manchester City’s owners have shown they’re not shy of spending, but they need to buy the right players and it looks like they may have finally learnt their lesson. The Manchester club are being heavily linked with a triple-swoop for Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne.
These three players are amongst the best young players in Europe at the minute and all are expected to leave their respective clubs this summer. If City manage to lure them to the Etihad it will send out a really strong message – that they are prepared to invest in youth to build a team that can challenge long term.