An injury-plagued campaign forced the defending Premier League Champions Manchester City to dip their toes in the transfer market in a bid to strengthen the squad on all fronts. They have splurged close to £218 million to secure the services of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nicolas Gonzalez, thus becoming the biggest spenders in this window.
Gonzalez became City’s final acquisition in the window whose arrival from FC Porto was announced on deadline day in a deal worth £50 million. The former Barcelona and Spanish youngster has been brought in to reinforce the midfield.
While no longer in the frame for the Premier League title race, the Sky Blues have managed to secure a place in the knockout round of the Champions League, where they are set to face Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola’s men would look to go deeper in the tournament with the help of their reinforced squad as well as in the FA Cup where they narrowly avoided a shock exit at the hands of Leyton Orient.
Strongest Man City Lineup With Their New Signings
Goalkeeper
With City’s defensive woes continuing to persist, Stefan Ortega and Ederson are expected to be rotated regularly for the remainder of the season with the Brazilian losing his undisputed position in the team over the course of the season.
Defenders
Khusanov had a debut to forget against Chelsea despite Man City’s victory, as his error led to the Blues’ goal. He has since had an outing against Leyton and also a fortuitous goal to his name in the match.
Despite his talent, Guardiola is likely to stick with the tried and tested names like Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and John Stones as the first-choice centre-backs in the Man City lineup.
Reis is another talented prodigy but his prospects of breaking into the starting 11 this season are bleak.
Josko Gvardiol and Nunes/Rico Lewis will continue to be the go-to full-backs.
Midfielders
Nicolas Gonzalez’s arrival will boost City’s midfield ranks and his impressive form and potential make him a reliable option. As a box-to-box player, he could pair up with Mateo Kovacic as one of the double pivots in the Man City lineup.
City have managed to get glimpses of Marmoush’s potential as a No.10 and a second striker in the last few games and it is only a matter of time before he replicates the exquisite form he displayed at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Attack
Savio has started to hit form in recent weeks and is likely to get the backing of Guardiola to start games more often. Similarly, Phil Foden has seemingly recaptured his best version and he could compete with Bernardo Silva, another trusted member of Guardiola.
Last but not least, Erling Haaland will continue to lead the attack.
On current viewing, it is clear that Kevin de Bruyne has lost more than a yard of pace and his lasting quality means he is best suited to impact games from the bench in majority of the fixtures remaining in the season.
