Three players Manchester city should buy and sell to keep them at the top of the Premier League.
Out: Micah Richards
It’s quite clear that City boss Manuel Pellegrini doesn’t fancy the former England international and the time is now right for him to move on and resurrect his career elsewhere. Now fully over his injury problems, it’s a genuine shame that it hasn’t worked out for him at the club, but at his age he would still earn the club a healthy transfer fee as they continue to struggle to balance the book with the new financial fair play rules coming into effect.
Out: Scott Sinclair
Sinclair’s career has gone so horribly wrong that it is beginning to look like a waste. He struggled to make an impact at West Bromwich Albion last term and has been plagued by injury problems for the majority of the year. It would be hard to work out just how much he is worth now, and after such a nomadic career at such a young age you would have to hope that his next move with be his last one for a while, else he ends up like so many mid-level trudgers that find themselves playing in Indonesia by the time they’re 28.
Out: Stevan Jovetic
The Montenegrin has had a difficult start to his career at the Etihad, but with the club trying to establish themselves as a dominant force in the top flight and not as an irritant to the established hierarchy there cannot be any passengers as every player needs to be pulling their weight and chipping in. To be fair to Jovetic, though, when he has played he has scored, but if the club can use him as part of the deal that would bring Juan Cuadrado to the club then they should cast him out without a second thought.
In: Eliaquim Mangala
Now while Mangala is most definitely overpriced, when he does offer is future star potential. The young Porto stopper has shown enough for an orderly queue to form for his signature as he would become a key player for the club in the coming years. He would have an excellent role model alongside him to learn from in the shape of Vincent Kompany, and regular title challenges in a top competitive league, as well as regular forays into the Champions League would bring his development along even quicker.
In: Marquinhos
The young defender is being tipped to make it to the top and should be regarded by the Citizens as a definite purchase over the summer. However, he already has a long list of admirers that will be willing to spend heavily to bring him on board, and like Mangala he will still be a little too green around the gills to fit straight into the squad. But City have the funds to outbid anybody, and alongside Kompany and the club’s other seasoned veterans around him he will learn quicker than if they weren’t there.
In: Mehdi Benatia
In case City don’t want to wait for a young gun to blossom in their midst, they could always make a big money move for the most in demand defender in Europe. Benatia has been attracting interest from everywhere this season and if anyone can stump up enough cash they will have a true defensive colossus on their hands. City’s defensive woes last term were so severe that a new defender, or defenders, will be paramount.