Manchester City had a fairly successful 23/24 season, but by their own standards, their team was extremely vulnerable at times, especially facing transitions. And there was a clear hole in the team in midfield, caused by the departure of Ilkay Gundogan. In the match against Real Madrid and the match against Manchester United, two of the most important matches of the season that CIty lost, City clearly lacked someone who could make late runs into the box and finish chances at the edge of the box. With Madrid and Manchester United both defending deep, City needed a player who can produce a goal and can ghost into good positions without being marked, the same way Gundogan did. With the amount of low blocks City face, there is a certain amount of dynamism missing from the midfield, especially in deeper regions. Another big problem in midfield was defending transitions. Rodri did not have nearly enough defensive cover defending transitions, and was left with an island of space to cover in counter attacks. Kovacic isn’t the ideal profile to complement Rodri in midfield as he cannot provide nearly enough defensive cover. Another big problem was the right hand side, specifically, the right back. This season, the right back was tasked with maintaining the width and providing the creative threat from the right wing. Kyle Walker, as good as he is, did not fit this profile. Taking the examples of the aforementioned matches, City lacked creativity from the right hand side, with most of the attacks coming down the left or through the centre, making them rather predictable. Another key weakness was that Kyle Walker’s poor defensive positioning led to a large amount of counter attacks and goals from the right hand side. Kyle Walker’s best years are behind him, and his defensive abilities have digressed significantly. In fact, Kovacic and Walker were both mainly to blame for Manchester United’s second goal in the Fa Cup final, with Kovacic not tracking Bruno Fernandes and Kyle Walker giving Mainoo too much space to shoot. It’s clear that Manchester City needs an upgrade in both of these positions. One big departure this summer is that of Julian Alvarez, however I feel that Manchester CIty will not sign a direct replacement to him, and will instead play with a false 9 system whenever Erling Haaland is not playing. Oscar Bobb is likely to get a lot more minutes as a false 9, but I feel that Phil Foden is a natural for the false 9 position and slots directly into the role, as his pocket play and finishing are some of his biggest strengths, alongside his passing ability and link up play. Instead, City might strengthen their midfield and defence and instead of playing players like Foden deeper in midfield, will play attacking players in their natural positions.

Transfers for the CDM/CM Hybrid Role

1.Bruno Guimarães

Bruno Guimarães is already one of the best midfielders playing in the premier league. Not only does he have 7 goals and 8 assists but he also stands out in several key areas against midfielders across the world. These include but are not limited to shot creating actions, progressive passes, successful take ons, through balls, goal creating actions, and passes into the penalty area. Alongside that, we can also highlight his defensive stats. At first glance, his defensive stats may look average at best, however he plays in a team that keeps a good amount of the ball, so the amount of defensive actions he needs to commit are lower. There are still several defensive actions that stand out, including ball recoveries and shot creating actions from a defensive action. These make him one of the best pressing midfielders in the premier League and his ability to create chances by forcing high turnovers is a huge asset. His technical ability on the ball stands out the most, with an incredible return in total carries, carries into the final third, carries into the penalty box and carrying distance, while leading the league in successful take ons. This technical ability allows him to complement a player like Rodri perfectly as he is the perfect press resistant Pep midfielder. One of the key aspects Pep needs from his midfielders is versatility. I believe that bruno guimaraes is the most versatile midfielder in the premier league right now, with an ability to play as an out and out 8(box to box midfielder) or a 6/8 hybrid, similar to how Kovacic plays currently in City’s system, or a complete press resistant 6 who can be the pivot in a ball playing team. His tactical versatility will also take some load off Rodri, which is extremely necessary as he was playing too many games last season. His ability to make late runs into the box, especially towards the edge of the box while finding space, allows him to replicate the qualities of a player massively missed by City last season, Ilkay gundogan. Gundogan’s box crashing abilities combined with his technical and defensive abilities made him a perfect box to box midfielder, and Bruno Guimaraes is the perfect long term replacement for Gundogan, with potentially an even higher ceiling. His incredible physicality is also a huge asset to have in a Premier League team, and his ability to use his physicality to shield the ball while carrying but also to win duels is a huge positive as well. He has a 100m release clause in his contract, but his versatility and his ability to be a world class player in 3 different positions make him an extremely valuable asset to any team, and Manchester City are frontrunners to sign him this season.

2.Joey Veerman

Joey Veerman is one of the best midfielders in the Eredivisie and was one of the most important players in PSV. He was the highest rated midfielder in the Eredivisie, and for good reason. He finished the season with 5 goals and 16 assists in 29 matches. He functions as a deep lying playmaker in a double pivot in PSV’s 4 2 3 1, and would slot in perfectly next to Rodri in a double pivot and can take a lot of the creative load in the team when Kevin De Bruyne is not playing. He is in the 99th Percentile of all midfielders in several key statistics, including assists, progressive passes, key passes, passes into the final third, passes into penalty area, shot creating actions, goal creating actions, while also being in the top 10 percentile for non penalty goals. He has outperformed his xg throughout the season, making him a competent finisher. However, most of his goals have come from long range goals, and he isn’t particularly proficient in making late runs into the box the way Bruno Guimaraes or Gundogan do, and that is reflected in the average shooting distance for all these players. He does have an ability to provide something different as a deep lying playmaker. He is also a solid player defensively, being in the top 10 percentile for dribblers tackled and dribblers challenged, while also being among the best midfielders in ball recoveries, tackles won, and goal creating actions from defensive actions. Achieving all of these stats while playing in a possession based team show a player who is solid defensively and offensively. His market value currently is only 40m, and surprisingly he hasn’t been linked to a lot of clubs.. He isn’t the same profile as Guimaraes, but he is an excellent midfielder and can offer a lot of creativity from deeper areas and bring a level of dynamism to City’s midfield.

3.Exequiel Palacios

Exequiel Palacios has had a breakout season at Bayer Leverkusen. He has been a key part of their success in the 23/24 season, standing out as an excellent ball winner and a deep lying playmaker. In possession, Palacios stands out in terms of his assists, expected assists, Progressive Passes, Key passes, Passes into the final third, Passes into the Penalty area, Progressive carries, carries, successful take ons and successful take on %. He is extremely press resistant and has an expansive passing range. This season he has primarily played as a ball winner next to Granit Xhaka, who has been the main deep lying playmaker in the team, but Palacios has proven to be more than good enough to replace his creative ability at Leverkusen. What really stands out is his ability off the ball. He is incredible at defending transitions, and he stands out in tackles, interceptions, duels won, dribblers tackled, and ball recoveries. One of City’s biggest weaknesses last season was defending transitions, and Palacios ability to be a destroyer in midfield will complement Rodri perfectly as it will take a good amount of the defensive burden off Rodri’s shoulders. He has a great ability to cover ground quickly and win duels, which have been big weaknesses for Kovacic, who has partnered Rodri in Midfield throughout this season. Palacios can also potentially develop into a great 8, as he is brilliant when playing in the pockets and is good in the final third as well, and can develop into a great 8 under Pep, similar to the way Declan Rice developed into a world class 8 under Mikel Arteta.

Transfers for the Right Back role to replace Kyle Walker Long term

1.Mohamed Simakan

Mohamed Simakan plays as a right back or a right centre back for RB Leipzig. He has played most of this season as a CB, but his numbers as a right back are excellent. What City need is a right back who can play both as a right back and as a right centre back in a back 3 or even a right sided centre back in a back 4. He has also played as a wing back in a back 5 for RB leipzig. His incredible versatility combined with his incredible technical ability make him a perfect defender for City. He stands out in goals, assists, shot creating actions, progressive carries, successful take ons, key passes, crosses into the penalty area, through balls, shot creating actions, goal creating actions, tackles, dribblers tacked, passes blocked and carries into the penalty area. HIs incredible ability to get out of tight spaces by using his technical ability and his explosive pace allows him to carry the ball large distances and create chances. He can even push into midfield and join City in their 2 3 5 shape, and can play as a wingback in possession. Defensively, he is more than sound enough to defend against most top wingers, and his arrival will massively improve City’s attacking threat from the right side and will also improve their rest defence and protect them against counter attacks. He is quite expensive as his release clause is worth 70m, but he is still very young and is an investment for the future, and can develop as a long term replacement to John Stones, by replicating his progressive carrying ability and his technical ability on the ball.

2.Lutsharel Geertruida

Geertruida plays as a right back for Feyenoord, and has been used as an inverting right back the entire season. HIs technical ability and defensive ability stand out. His ability to join the midfield in a 2 3 5 while also having the ability to sit back in a back 3 makes him a huge asset in any team he plays. However, his crossing ability is limited and he can’t function particularly well as a wing back. He stands out in goals, assists, progressive passes, shot creating actions, passes into the final third, carries, progressive carrying distance, percentage of dribblers tackled and aerials won. This shows that he is an excellent all round right back who can be a great long term replacement for Kyle Walker. He massively improves Manchester City’s rest defence, and his ability to create chances from deeper areas while inverting gives him an X factor that City could definitely use against teams sitting in a low block. He is valued at 35 million but he does have a release clause worth 40m, and would be an excellent signing for this city defence.

3.Malo Gusto

Malo Gusto played as a right back for Chelsea for the majority of the 23/24 season in the absence of Reece James. He has done extremely well to cover for Reece James and bring back creativity from the right wing. Him and Palmer have probably been the biggest positives from the 23/24 season for Chelsea.Offensively, Gusto stands out in terms of his assists, expected assists, key passes, passes into penalty area, crosses into penalty area, progressive passes, progressive carries, carries into the final third, carries into the penalty area, progressive carrying distance, goal creating actions and shot creating actions. He is excellent at both holding the width from the right side and coming inside. His technical ability and his ability to receive the ball under pressure makes him an excellent profile to invert into midfield, which is a quality highly valued by Pep. This season at Chelsea, he has mostly played as an overlapping right back, and has been brilliant in his role. Kyle Walker has almost been used as a wing back for much of this season, Providing all the width from the right hand side. His offensive ability has been a huge problem, as his crossing and technical ability are some of his weakest qualities. Creativity from the right hand side has been quite low due to this. Gusto had the 2nd most open play assists of any player in the Premier League this season, while only starting 19 matches in the premier league. Another big weakness for Kyle Walker has been his defensive positioning, often leaving his wingers with too much space to operate, and getting beaten far too easily in 1v1 situations. His pace cannot always bail him out in these situations. Malo Gusto has been one of the best right backs in the entire league when it comes to his defensive attributes. He stands out in tackles, dribblers tackled, % of dribblers tackled, blocks, and ball recoveries. He is extremely tough to dribble past, and has brilliantly dealt with some of the best left wingers in the premier league consistently. He is rapid, and combined with his superior defensive positioning, he has the ability to take over the defensive mantle of Kyle Walker. He is offensively good enough to play as a Wing back, and is defensively good enough to play as a right sided centre back in a back 3. He has even been deployed as a left back by Chelsea, and has performed very well in that position as well.