Pep Guardiola's next Man City transfer project is obvious after £288million transformation

2 weeks ago 54

The Manchester City squad that bushed Wydad AC 2-0 successful the opening circular of games astatine the Club World Cup was the 2nd youngest fielded among the 32 teams that week. This intriguing stat offered truthful overmuch anticipation for Pep Guardiola for a while.

There was a freshness astir City successful America successful those aboriginal weeks. Three convincing wins successful the radical stages suggested they were getting their mojo back, with the squad benefiting from a large refresh, but that optimism was halted by the 4-3 decision to Al Hilal successful Orlando.

It mightiness not person been the strongest broadside disposable to Guardiola, but the starting XI against Wydad had an mean property of 23.4 and included conscionable 2 players implicit the property of 26, successful 30-year-old Nathan Ake and Ederson (31).

By the clip they played Al Hilal, the mean property had crept up to 26.9, partially owed to the beingness of 34-year-old Ilkay Gundogan. Bernardo and Ederson were the lone different 30-somethings connected the team.

This is partially arsenic a effect of the squad overhaul that City person been carrying retired successful caller years. New signings person tended to beryllium young, and it present feels similar determination is younker successful each presumption and players successful their premier each implicit the pitch. A squad that had won everything unneurotic has gradually been refreshed and partially rebuilt.

If determination is 1 country that intelligibly needs attraction next, it is goalkeeper. In 2025 alone, determination person been caller signings successful defence, midfield and attack, but the accomplishment of 33-year-old Marcus Bettinelli, portion offering a caller dependable successful the goalkeeping group, isn't going to alteration the dynamics erstwhile it comes to selection.

For each the questions astir Ederson and Stefan Ortega's futures towards the extremity of past season, it appears some volition enactment astatine the Etihad for 1 much season. Ederson volition crook 32 successful August, and Ortega volition beryllium 33 successful November, truthful it is wide neither antheral tin present beryllium considered the future.

Ederson suffered wounded issues past play and was adjacent to a determination to the Saudi Pro League successful 2024. He had a hard crippled against Al Hilal, and having flirted with leaving the nine recently, determination is an consciousness that adjacent if helium stays this season, a replacement is apt to beryllium required successful 2026.

Ortega has been a reliable No. 2, but past play suggested helium isn't the reply arsenic an Ederson replacement for the agelong term, adjacent ignoring the information that helium is older than the existent incumbent. The German has fixed information to pushing to beryllium a first-choice elsewhere successful caller seasons.

At a clip erstwhile the City squad has been astatine slightest partially rebuilt astir a absorption connected younker acknowledgment to signings specified arsenic Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki, they person 3 goalkeepers successful their 30s.

There is simply a lawsuit to beryllium made for signing a younger goalkeeper to vie with Ederson this play alternatively than hazard a script adjacent summertime erstwhile City indispensable motion a caller first- and second-choice goalkeeper. But whichever attack is taken, it's wide that caller manager of shot Hugo Viana volition request to absorption importantly connected the goalkeeper marketplace successful the months ahead.

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