An overview of what Manchester City have to do in the transfer window.
Players they should sign:
Alvaro Negredo – Over the past six months City have sold Mario Ballotelli and Carlos Tevez and have released Roque Santa Cruz, leaving the side with just Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko as their only first team strikers. And since missing out on the likes of Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani the need to bring in extra firepower has increased. Negredo’s story has been another one that has threatened to drag out. At first he was linked with Spurs, then Atletico Madrid, and then, finally, he was prepared to stay put in Andalusia. However, City are thought to have been encouraged to go for the Spanish international after Sevilla secured the signing of Carlos Bacca from Club Brugge last week. Negredo is aslo though to be seeking a speedy resolve to his situation, and is thought to be keen on a move to a club that can offer him the chance of silverware. After all, the highest scoring Spaniard in the Primera Division deserves the chance to showcase what he can do at the very highest level.
Oscar Cardozo – City have space to fill up front that just one player won’t fill and the Benfica forward would be an excellent addition to the ranks. Reports in England have suggested that he is being considered as a serious target by Manchester City following Carlos Tevez’s departure to Juventus last week. The 30-year-old bagged 30 goals in all competitions last season as they finished runners up in both the Portuguese League and the Europa League but his days at the club could be numbered after a high profile falling out with coach Jorge Jesus. Manuel Pellegini is known to be interested, though he may have to cough up somewhere in the region of €20m (£17.1m) to land the Paraguayan international. Cardozo has an impressive record of scoring 161 goals in 260 appearances for the Lisbon giants since joining from Argentinian club Newell’s Old Boys in 2007, and at his age this may be the final chance he will get at playing in the Premier League.
Blaise Matuidi –
City have already moved to bring in Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fernandinho and Sevilla winger Jesus Navas but it is thought that Matuidi is still high on their wanted list. The 26-year-old had been a target for several fellow Premier League sides Arsenal and Liverpool, but City hope to steal in and bring him to the Eithad as he enters the final year of his contract at the Parc Des Princes. The big spenders feel that they could twist PSG’s arm into letting him go for around £10 million considering the circumstances of his contract, but they are likely to face some stiff competition from Serie A giants Napoli. New boss Rafa Benitez is already working hard to mould his new squad into shape and has identified the French international as the ideal man to boss the middle of the park. Matuidi joined PSG from Saint Etienne in 2011 and has gone on to make 87 appearances for the Parisian side, scoring nine goals. He has also recently began to establish himself as a regular for Les Bleus with eight of his 12 caps coming over the past year.
Piotr Zielinski –
Rumours suggest that City and their cross city rivals fought it out to land Robin Van Persie last summer, and are set to go at it again this year for the 18-year-old midfielder. City need to invest in a more sound youth policy and Zielinski would prove an ideal place to start. The Polish under-21 international only made his first start for the Serie A side this season, making his debut in a 4-1 win over Cagliari when he came on as a late substitute for veteran striker Antonio Di Natale. He has since gone on to make just nine appearances for the first team, creating two assists in the process but has spent the bulk of the campaign on loan with the club’s development side, Udinese Primavera, where he has bagged seven goals in 15 games. Zielinski, a native of Zabkowice Slaskie in Poland, has turned out for his country at various youth levels and has recently made the step up to the under-21’s. He will be expected to make the full squad soon if he continues to progress at the current rate and is tipped, both in his homeland and in Italy, for a big future in the game. Reports in Italy have suggested that United and City have sent scouts to watch him several times and are expected to gage in a fresh bidding war at the end of the season.
Areas of weakness:
Strikers – As stated on the previous page, City have just two recognised first team strikers in the squad, and one of those, Edin Dzeko, was rumoured to be heading out of the club this summer. However, under the new manager the Bosnian may get his chance to finally establish himself in the first team now. But Pellegrini still has a lot of work to do if he wants to make sure the side is potent enough in front of goal if they are to make another serious challenge on all four fronts again next term. Luckily, City have goals coming from all over the pitch, but that won’t be of much comfort if they don’t have rotation between four top class forwards.
Appetite – When City won the league last year, they looked as though they really wanted it, as though it was their destiny, however, last season, they could not (or would not) show the same level of desire and hunger. They are blessed with enough talent to win the leave, but defending it just seemed to be out of the question. The performances of key players like Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Yaya Touré and Vincent Kompany all fell well short of expectation, and it was only the nous and guile of these players that would have been able to pull them through.
Transfer Policy – Since coming into such fantastic wealth City have consistently overpaid for their stars and there have been some expensive mistakes. Taking a look at some of their dealings since last summer there is a high rate of being shortchanged, even on the players who have done well.
Samir Nasri – £25 million, Scott Sinclair £6.8 million, Javi Garcia £15.8 million, Jack Rodwell £12 million, Matija Nestasic £15 million, and most recently, Fernandinho for £30 million.
Now whilst there is still hope for someone like Rodwell to come good, and Nasri to rediscover his form, the majority of the rest have been vastly overpaid for with very little return, and rival clubs can ask for these kind of fees because they know that City will pay them. That is something that needs to be curbed. There is nothing wrong with paying a high fee for the right player, but now City have a saturated squad full of players who can’t get into the team or are there on merit. Hopefully Pellegrini will be more astute than his predecessor and won’t allow himself to be dragged into such situations.
Strengths:
The Egos are leaving – For as brilliant as they were, there’s no doubting that Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli caused the club all sorts of unwanted attention for their antics both on and off the pitch. City, last season anyway, didn’t have the management in place to deal with the outbursts and indiscretions either and things would eventually end with a war of words, and sometimes handbags, instead of the matter being dealt with quickly and efficiently. Of course, Mancini’s ego didn’t help matters either, as the manager it should have been his way or the highway, instead he flip-flopped so many times that he could have turned himself inside out. Not all of the egotists are out, of course, but the key three disruptors have been displaced and now Pellegrini must ensure that it stays that way and make sure the boat isn’t rocked at such crucial times.
Strength in depth – In the midfield the options available to the new manager are almost scary. City have ten players that can quite easily slip into the open slots in midfield and the only question is how on earth will they all be kept happy? Ranging from the dynamism of Yaya Toure, to the steadiness of Gareth Barry, the trickery of David Silva and the pace of Jesus Navas, there are at least two players for every position, and the defence isn’t badly covered either. The latest additions of Navas and Fernandinho are most likely set to go straight into the side considering the amount of money that has been spent to bring them in, and there should be some room out wide soon with Scott Sinclair’s mooted departure likely to happen before September 1st.
Tactical Intelligence – This is not to say that Roberto Mancini is a bad manager, on the contrary, his record speaks for itself, but he never gave off the feeling that he knew exactly what he was doing with his squad. Pellegrini, though, and under somewhat similar circumstances managed to guide Malaga to the latter stages of the Champions League, and though older, can count some greater clubs on his resume than Mancini can.
Who they should sell:
Scott Sinclair – Chances are that if you wanted to see Scott Sinclair last season you’d have had better luck just watching the bench as that’s where he spent most of his time. It seemed like a bad move at the time, and surprise surprise – it was. At Swansea he seemingly had the world at his feet, finally finding a home after being passed around the lower leagues like a cigarette in a World War Two submarine whilst at Chelsea. It could be argued that he wasn’t given enough of a chance over the past 12 months, but when the management don’t want to play you then there is usually a valid reason for that. Offering very little to what City already have, he could soon well be following in the footsteps of fellow England hopeful Adam Johnson in a move away from the Etihad this summer.
Javi Garcia – Another move that never really seemed likely to work out well despite starting his Premier League career with a bang. However, now that City have added Fernandinho to the ranks, competition for places in the centre of the pitch is going to be intense and Garcia is likely to be the man to suffer. Jack Rodwell is still tipped to have a big future at the club, whilst Gareth Barry’s experience is likely to come in handy at several points over the coming months.
Costel Pantilimon – The lanky Romanian is actually a very adept goalkeeper, but he’s never going to displace Joe Hart from the number one jersey. Over recent weeks he’s made noises about securing a move away, and just on general principle – it comes as no surprise. After doing his best to help the club reach the FA Cup final he was callously dropped from the showpiece event, and his counterpart conceded a goal that he most likely would have got his big gloves to.
Samir Nasri – Another player who was brought to the club for a huge fee but hasn’t produced anywhere near his finest form, his resale value would still be high enough to make the whole transaction not seem like a waste of time. A number of sides are said to be interested, including French moneybags Paris Saint Germain, so it would be an idea to cash in on him whilst the getting’s good.