Who could be the ideal midfielder for Manchester City to add in January? | OneFootball

With Rodri out for the remainder of this season, it does appear that Manchester City will be forced into the transfer market to find another midfielder. Although Rodri’s loss isn’t the sole cause of City’s recent stutter it hasn’t helped. It would seem that the champions adding another midfielder in January is an obvious move. But who would be the ideal addition to the Manchester City midfield? Here are three players recently linked with the world champions and a brief look at whether or not they could slot into Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Ederson

Manchester City have recently been linked with a move for Atalanta midfielder Ederson. Pete O’Rourke has reported for Football Insider that City have laid the groundwork for a potential move for the Brazilian midfielder. The Brazilian midfielder is a key cog in a quality Atalanta side.

A look at Ederson’s game shows he excels at recovering the ball as a defensive midfielder. He is adept at reading the game and his positioning is top notch. It’s those strengths that make him such a weapon for Atalanta. That skill alone would see him as an ideal addition to Manchester City’s midfield, in my opinion.

But he also excels in possession. Ederson isn’t just a defensive colossus. He also has a strong range of passing and can dictate a game. Often he is seen setting up the game for Atalanta. He is a player who is strong in both areas of the game as a midfielder. His performance in Atalanta’s 3-nil win over Napoli last weekend perfectly encapsulated his quality and all-around game.

Samuele Ricci

Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci is another midfielder who has been linked with a potential move to Manchester City. French publication L’Equipe has reported that Ricci is one of two players City sees as potential players to fill the void left by Rodri’s injury.

Ricci has had a strong start to the season for Torino. He has also shown his quality while playing for Italy. Ricci is a different type of midfielder to Ederson. The Italian international is more of a deep-lying playmaker than a number 6 in the mould of Ederson. What stands out in Ricci’s game is his ability in possession. He has a wide range of passing and can dictate the tempo of games. That trait has stood out in Ricci’s performances this season.

Ricci isn’t as strong defensively as Ederson. But he is no slouch defensively either. He reads the game well, and his ability to break up opponents’ attacks by intercepting the play is a feature. Given his age, there is no reason why he can’t further hone this particular skill.

Martin Zubimendi

The second midfielder named by L’Equipe as a potential target for Manchester City is Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

Zubimendi has shown both with club and country that he is a workhorse in midfield. Like all Spanish midfielders, he possesses a quality passing game. Zubimendi can almost play every type of ball and he does dictate games both for club and country.

Defensively Zubimendi is no slouch either. While he isn’t as mobile as Rodri nor is he as adept going forward but he can play in a similar manner to the Ballon d’Or winner. He did exactly this for Spain in the 2-1 win over England in last summer’s European Championship final.

Zubimendi is a quality midfielder in his own right and would be a welcome addition to Manchester City’s midfield if they did move for the Spanish international.

Summary.

Ederson, Samuele Ricci and Martin Zubimendi would all bring their own strengths to Manchester City’s midfield if the champions did sign one of them in January. Each player is a quality midfielder in their own right. It is now a question of if City will move for a midfielder in January. Surely they will based on the age of Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva. Plus City’s recent performances indicate that they do need another midfielder. Adding another midfielder seems be a key item that needs to be addressed by Manchester City.

But of the three midfielders listed above who would be the perfect addition to City’s midfield? In my opinion that would be Atalanta miwork rate would complementrgy and workrate would compliment City’s current midfielders perfectly. He is also a different type of player to any midfielder Manchester City currently possess. But if City could land anyone of the three mentioned they would strengthen their squad and midfield.