Tough decisions incoming? Assessing what Man City need to do this summer | OneFootball

Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are not used to losing, but they did it far too many times for their liking this past season.

Although they ultimately finished third in the Premier League, they were never close to competing for the title.

Injuries of course played a major role in their drop off but there were many other additional factors in their decline. A busy summer is now expected for Guardiola’s side and a further squad overhaul is on the cards.

We’ve looked at what needs to be done for the club to be in a position to reclaim the Premier League title next season.

Take some tough decisions

City have enjoyed tremendous success in recent years, however it is now clear that they are an ageing side. They had ten senior players that missed ten or more matches through injury last season. This is close to half of their squad and is simply not sustainable for a team that regularly plays north of 50 matches a season.

Consequently, the time is now right for the club to start offloading some of their stars that can no longer maintain fitness. The decision to not offer Kevin De Bruyne a new contract sets a strong precedent at the Etihad. It is never easy to let go of players that have achieved so much at the Etihad but it is necessary if Guardiola’s side are going to return to the top. The likes of John Stones, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, and Bernardo Silva might need to move on.

Add athleticism in midfield

The departure of De Bruyne leads to natural questions on who his replacement will be. City were heavily linked with a move for Florian Wirtz but that no longer appears on the cards. There are already options within the club for De Bruyne’s successor, with Phil Foden seeming like a natural heir to the throne.

Youngster Claudio Echeverri arrived from River Plate in January and also plays in that position. Although the Argentine was not seen on the pitch until the latter stages of the season, teammates have spoken highly of his impressive talents in training. With these options available, Guardiola may feel that City do not need to into the market to find a De Bruyne replacement.

However, even if they are not looking for De Bruyne’s successor, it is still likely that the Blues will invest in a central midfielder this summer. City’s midfield looked aged and leggy this past season. AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders is reportedly close to a move to the Etihad. The Dutchman looks like a perfect replacement for Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, who struggled at times in the past year.

Sign at least one full-back

City have consistently lacked full-backs throughout Guardiola’s tenure. In the past, the Catalan has deployed midfielders such as Fabian Delph, Oleksandr Zinchenko and now Nico O’Reilly and Matheus Nunes at full-back. He has also moved centre-backs to wide areas, such as Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji.

With the likely departure of Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis is City’s only remaining recognised full-back, and he himself often looks more suited to a midfield role. Although Guardiola has regularly proven that he can do without, he will surely want to add a true full-back to his squad.

The Blues will look to sign either a left-back, right-back or both. Among those rumoured so far are Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri, Bournemouth’s highly-rated Milos Kerkez and Flamengo’s young Wesley Franca.