How Man City transfer strategy is addressing weaknesses Guardiola flagged up

Pep Guardiola has flagged up 4 areas the place Manchester Metropolis want to enhance to struggle for the Premier League title subsequent season.

And the Blues’ switch technique has clearly been geared in the direction of fixing the issues which led to them ending up 18 factors behind champions Liverpool.

Valencia winger Ferran Torres is becoming a member of Metropolis from Valencia and the Blues have agreed the £41million switch of defender Nathan Ake from Bournemouth.

They’re additionally pursuing Napoli centre again Kalidou Koulibaly, though not ready to pay the Italian membership’s £80million asking value.

In latest seasons, Metropolis’s signings have been about changing ageing or departing gamers, and gilding the lily, relatively than patching up issues inside the squad.

Learn Extra

So Rodri was introduced in as long-term alternative for 35-year-old Fernandinho, Joao Cancelo as like-for-like when Danilo left, and Riyad Mahrez was a case of including one other high quality choice in an space the place the Blues had been already well-stocked.

However there’s a sense that this summer time the modifications will not be merely beauty or regenerative, however should handle actual issues which have set them again on this marketing campaign.

Guardiola has been fielding questions on the place Metropolis’s pursuit of Liverpool went incorrect this season, and there’s a direct correlation between his solutions and the way in which set have gone about their enterprise.

Vote on your Metropolis participant of the season right here:

Guardiola’s personal views on the areas the place Metropolis had been missing within the league reveal the wants which should be fulfilled by wielding the cheque guide.

He stated: “The dedication of the gamers is undoubtedly nonetheless, after two or three profitable seasons, unbelievable however we’re within the level the place we typically make errors.”

Ake’s impending arrival shouldn’t be solely about making up numbers which have been quick since Vincent Kompany left, however about addressing the difficulty of particular person errors.

Learn Extra

The previous Chelsea man has made no errors which led to a objective in 146 Premier League appearances – a outstanding stat, particularly when stacked in opposition to Nicolas Otamendi’s determine of 5 in 136 and John Stones’ seven in 162.

Aymeric Laporte’s knee harm final season was additionally pinpointed by Guardiola – the French defender had shortly change into a totemic determine within the Metropolis defence, and was additionally missed as the one left-footed choice.

The pursuit of Koulibaly addresses a kind of issues, and Metropolis hope Ake gives a solution to each.

The opposite on-field situation for Guardiola has been the failure to take possibilities in key video games, which appears odd when Metropolis have top-scored within the league with 102.

To comply with Stuart on Twitter, click on right here.

Or to love his Fb web page and preserve updated with the most recent breaking information, click on right here.

Here is the hyperlink to the M.E.N’s important Manchester Metropolis Fb web page the place we share our newest Blues information.

However a part of the issue is that the possibilities are sometimes not clear-cut sufficient. Metropolis have loads of attacking instruments however Leroy Sane’s departure takes away the person who may open up groups with sheer tempo, allied to shut management.

Torres, on the face of it, restores that potential to the crew. He has developed a status in La Liga for carrying the ball previous gamers at tempo, which doesn’t give defences time to re-organise, and opens up area in tight-packed rearguards.

Used largely without any consideration winger by Valencia, he’s sturdy with each toes and will simply be used on both aspect.

Guardiola’s different grumble about his crew’s shortcomings was about atttude.

He stated: “Possibly after successful titles we didn’t get or arrive with the identical ardour and I had the sensation after Liverpool gained the Champions League they had been extremely centered, after 30 years not successful the league, to win each single recreation, prefer it was the final likelihood that they had.”

Whereas his present squad shall be feeling the damage of that, and will react, an injection of latest, bold blood often helps to refresh ambition and sharpen focus.