MANCHESTER CITY’S 2019-20 season finished with a fizzle. After falling way off the pace in the Premier League – unable to keep up with red-hot Liverpool – they fell short of securing the holy grail. Pep Guardiola has made no bones of the fact he would love to win the Champions League with Man City. […]
MANCHESTER CITY’S 2019-20 season finished with a fizzle.
After falling way off the pace in the Premier League – unable to keep up with red-hot Liverpool – they fell short of securing the holy grail.
Pep Guardiola has made no bones of the fact he would love to win the Champions League with Man City.
However, their shock loss to Lyon saw that dream put on hold for at least another year.
But what can Guardiola and Co do to get back to the top of English football and finally win Europe’s top club honour?
We take a look at who stays, who goes and who could arrive at the Etihad this summer.
THE big result of Manchester City’s underwhelming season was undoubtedly their victory over Uefa at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
That dispelled all the rumours that key men such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling could look for a move with no European football to look forward to.
Those two will continue to be crucial to City’s hopes going forward but they will need more support.
Phil Foden will get more chances with David Silva gone, while Pep needs Aymeric Lapore and Bernardo Silva – both outstanding at various points in his reign – to recapture their best form.
One more big season out of Sergio Aguero, the last of City’s “old guard”, would also help.
SATURDAY was a sad way for David Silva to bow out of City after ten incredible years – and it’s hard to imagine the club without their Spanish “Merlin”.
While his powers were possibly on the wane, he has shown since the restart he still offers a great deal.
Leroy Sane left last month in a £55million deal as he got his wish for a move to Bayern Munich.
The German’s talent is not in doubt and he proved to be a game-changer many times but he had not played for a year anyway due to injury.
Deputy keeper Claudio Bravo is also on his way, with Real Betis expected to secure his signature – although he has not featured regularly since the arrival of Ederson in summer 2017.
DEFENCE is likely to be the big focus this summer and, with players coming in, some will have to make way.
Centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones looked certain to be the fall guys.
But youngster Eric Garcia may offer one of them a lifeline as the 19-year-old turned down a new deal amid interest from his boyhood club, Barcelona.
Elsewhere, the omission of Benjamin Mendy and Oleksandr Zinchenko on Saturday looked ominous for them, with a new left-back also on Pep’s wish list.
Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus have both been linked with moves in recent weeks – suggesting their agents might be worried.
But right-back Joao Canelo has played his way back into Pep’s good books.
NATHAN AKE was the first new centre-back to arrive at City this summer although it is expected he will not be the only one.
The classy Dutchman cost an initial £40million from Bournemouth this month and looks tailor-made for a Guardiola team with his ability on the ball.
But the fact he is left-footed, like Laporte, means it is hard to see the two of them forging a regular partnership and hints at further new arrivals.
Meanwhile, City paid an initial £20.8m to Valencia for wideman Ferran Torres to fill the void left by Sane.
The 20-year-old Spaniard was on the radar of Europe’s top clubs and Pep will hope his pace and power will add something that has been missing.
ANOTHER centre-back is in the pipeline and don’t be surprised if the next costs more than Ake.
Guardiola would love Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly but the asking price of £70m is likely to be a problem for a 29-year-old with no resale value, particularly if his poor display against Barcelona nine days ago was anything to go by.
Sevilla’s Diego Carlos has been mentioned as a possible alternative.
Left-back is still an issue for City, with fresh reports linking them to Juventus’ Alex Sandro.
And one day they will need a replacement for Aguero – with Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix, a player they looked at last summer, mentioned.
