Manchester City are moving quietly in the right direction,
but theirs is still a squad needing work.
In particular, the last time City purchased an established attacking talent
was in 2018, when Riyad Mahrez joined. Since then,
they’ve efficiently acquired outstanding young talents like Flip Stevanovic and Nahuel Bustos,
while focussing the greater weight of their resources on improving their defence.
Ferran Torres has had an encouraging start,
but City still need to alter their offensive mechanics. Kevin De Bruyne shoulders too
much creative burden, while the joint responsibilities of central midfield,
linking to the front and protecting the back, are not being carried out with the same ability.
David Silva has left a sizeable hole, while Rodri and Gundogan lack Fernandinho’s presence. And,
up front, Sergio Aguero needs a long-term replacement too.
City are clearly building for the future and their low-end acquisition of youngsters
shows genuine intelligence. Added to which, Pep Guardiola has committed
himself by signing a new two-year contract and, with the support of CFG’s great wealth,
the club will be keen to back their manager and reassert their footballing primacy.
We’ve highlighted Inter’s Lautaro Martinez before and we still feel he’s worth a look. But if City
want the best young striker in the world, then Erling Braut Haaland should be top of their list.
Haaland is a monstrous talent.
His height and strength doesn’t limit his speed, and he also shows a good pressing instinct.
He’s strangely repetitive as a striker, often making the same runs into the left-hand side
of the penalty area before pulling powerful finishes across the keeper to the far side.
Haaland isn’t the typical Guardiola striker. Most often, he’s preferred players of more
subtlety and those who can find space in tight attacking zones. And yet his use of a larger
focal point wouldn’t be without precedent. While he and Zlatan Ibrahimovic fell out at Barcelona,
the Swede had a more than decent goal return. More pertinently, after leaving a more vertical,
less possession-based system at Borussia Dortmund, Robert Lewandowski had one of the
most prolific Bundesliga’s seasons of his career during Guardiola’s final year at Bayern Munich.
Even though Haaland and Lewandowski have key differences, that’s an instructive
example. City may rarely see a high defensive line or many opportunities in transition,
but Haaland’s reaction speed in the penalty box is one of his strengths,
as is his one-touch, close range finishing and his capacity to separate from a marker
at the last, critical second. Given the type of chances that City create, those are prerequisite
qualities - and some of the same ones that allowed Lewandowski to prosper under Guardiola.
Not that Haaland would just become one dimensional. In Kevin De Bruyne, City possess
the Premier League’s most dangerous creative weapon and were Haaland to become a target for
that kind of passing – which is often disguised, and which frequently turns a defence towards its
own goal – then all of his size, speed and power would be a formidable threat beyond the last man.
During his time in Dortmund, he also formed a quick, potent relationship with Jadon Sancho, and
– in a more embryonic way – young Giovani Reyna. City’s talent is older and more established,
but the profile of player with whom Haaland would need to develop chemistry is fairly similar.
A tantalising prospect, then, and a realistic one. Borussia Dortmund are now caught between eras and,
as of 2022, Haaland will have an active release clause of £68m in his contract.
Two other young strikers who are worth keeping an eye on
are Jose Macias of Deportivo Guadalajara, and Ajax’s Danilo,
who’s currently on loan at Twente. Both are physically more similar to Aguero.
Macias has got quick, skilful feet, strikes a ball very sweetly
and is deservedly considered the best young talent in Mexico at the moment.
Danilo is shorter and more robust, with a frame that should broaden.
He’s a blur of movement in the penalty area and can also take on defenders
from deep. He’s probably the most Aguero-like in style, but a less
polished option than Macias or obviously Haaland. He’s still one to watch, though.
Fernandinho has been a world class defensive screen, allowing City to
play a high line and compress space, while also effectively transitioning play forwards.
He also allowed Guardiola to play a 4-3-3 with two central midfielders
who could afford to shoulder less defensive responsibility. Rodri is excellent as the
transitioning part of his game, and so we’re also looking for someone who could play in a
double pivot alongside the Spaniard should Guardiola want to use a 4-2-3-1 as well.
Despite recent injury, Gladbach’s Dennis Zakaria is the ideal fit for this role. Long-limbed,
he’s able to seize possession even when it’s shielded by an opponent. He can then turn
defence into attack with dynamic ball-carrying and a good range of long or short passing.
He’s almost a box-to-box midfielder – his athleticism allows him to press high up the
pitch and then recover his position – but his all-round defensive acumen
means he’s most suited to playing at the base of a three or alongside a more advanced passer
in a two. In other words: he’d work in either of City’s preferred set-ups.
Looking further afield, Manuel Ugarte of Fenix in Uruguay looks to have a high ceiling. At only 19,
he’s already an astute screening midfielder, unflashy and hard-working,
but with a knack of being in the right place to make a tackle or ball recovery.
A move to a mid-to low-ranking La Liga team seems like the right step at the moment, though.
And while Bayern’s Angelo Stiller is yet to make a real first team breakthrough,
he is very much a Guardiola pivote – his reading of the game is exceptional,
his passing range can set quick attackers free in the wide spaces or transition the
ball verticality to creative attackers further up the pitch, and he already has the height,
and is developing the build, to one day impose himself on a top-level midfield.
With a proper base restored, City could return to playing a 4-3-3 – and to do this effectively,
they might want to consider an attacking central midfielder. Phil Foden merits more playing time
and Bernardo Silva has been very effective, but City do miss David Silva’s metronomic passing
and ability to hold the ball before releasing amid the pressure of a Premier League midfield.
It should be an ambition rather than a priority, but Lyon’s Houssem Aouar – who
has long interested Arsenal - possesses the requisite skills.
Aouar has a mesmerising touch. He’s capable of little flicks, backheels,
or disguised passes that open up defences, even in tight areas, and possesses the creative range
that would suit Guardiola’s preferred build up and hurt teams even when they’re sitting deep.
He’s quick, too, yet seems still to do everything with the same
calm and precision that David Silva once did.
We also really like Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz. He’s got quick skilful feet and his slide
rule passes show an interesting craft. He does sometimes take on too many defenders,
but he’s still just 17 and so that’s hardly unusual. He’s a huge prospect; one to watch.
Viktoria Plzen’s Pavel Bucha is a bit older, at 22, but he’s a smart playmaker from the
more dynamic end of the spectrum. He has an eye for a clever pass, as well, and, given the time,
can also rake long balls into the channels to great effect.
He’d be a smart option for someone, perhaps a club working on more of a budget.