The current champions of England are not where they want to be. As of writing, Manchester City find themselves 14 points behind Liverpool, a lead that almost looks insurmountable. Its clear Manchester City won’t be winning the league this season and must now look towards planning for the future.
The Sky Blues season seemingly fell apart when Aymeric Laporte was sidelined with a knee injury. Since then, Pep has tried a different number of combinations at the back, all to no avail. If City wants to topple the Reds next season, signings must be made now to get a head start.
Here are three surprise signings Manchester City could make this window
Marquinhos
In the summer, Manchester City allowed Vincent Kompany to leave the club while not finding a replacement for him or Eliaquim Mangala. This decision was absurd and looked even worse when Laporte got injured. This left City more exposed at the back, with even teams like Wolves finding holes in their defensive line.
What Pep needs in his defenders is versatility, adaptability and confidence to play out from the back. PSG defender Marquinhos fits that mould perfectly. Despite only being 25, the Brazilian is extremely mature in his performances having learnt all his tricks from the mighty Thiago Silva. The French giants currently have 3 or 4 quality defenders competing for the same two places, leaving the Brazilian vulnerable to departure.
Jadon Sancho
It’s funny how things come full circle. A couple of years ago, Jadon Sancho was just another promising youngster in the Manchester City U21. At the time he felt he deserved to be playing first-team football, Pep Guardiola didn’t agree. Fast forward to 2020 and Sancho is the most sought-after youngster in the world. City will rue the day they sold the 21-year-old for peanuts only for them to chase him a few years later at a sizeable price.
Dortmund is demanding in excess of £100m for the winger, a fee City can afford but with regret. It would take some time for Sancho to get used to Pep’s patient Tikki-takka as he’s used to a quicker and more direct style of play at Dortmund. Since leaving the Etihad, the 19-year-old has directly contributed to an outstanding 59 goals.
Kingsley Coman
It’s all but certain that Leroy Sane will be returning to Germany in the summer with Bayern Munich being his preferred destination. This would provide the perfect avenue for the Sky Blues to capture their long-term target, Kingsley Coman. The arrival of Sane would mean one of Serge Gnabry or Coman would have to give way, leaving a major selection dilemma.
The Frenchman has once again been finding his form in Munich after a few injury setbacks. This season, the 23-year-old has provided a lot of service for red-hot Robert Lewandowski. The Frenchman’s trickery, pace, incisive passing and clever decision making will make him a very useful weapon in Guardiola’s arsenal for next season.
