City have been active in the summer transfer window to give Pep Guardiola the perfect Premier League squad
Sean McCormick is a content editor across our North East and Yorkshire football clubs. He was previously a Newcastle United reporter, a trends writer covering both the Magpies and Sunderland AFC, as well as a football content editor at the Manchester Evening News. He also writes about darts and boxing. He joined us in 2016.
Manchester City have signed four new players this summer and they may not be done yet.
Following on from a January transfer window that saw City sign six new players, Pep Guardiola is building a squad alongside new sporting director Hugo Viana that they hope will see them win trophies again this season.
City’s transfer spend this summer has already outstripped £110million following the arrivals of Rayan Ait-Nouri (£31million) from Wolves, Rayan Cherki (£34million) from Lyon, Tijjani Reijnders (£46.3million) from AC Milan and Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea.
All four players were signed prior to City’s involvement in the Club World Cup earlier this summer and they have had some valuable integration time during their four games in that tournament in the United States.
And while Guardiola feels his squad size is too big, those four games across the Atlantic did expose one glaring gap in the squad – the lack of a recognised right-back.
Kyle Walker was deemed surplus to requirements prior to his move to Burnley being completed but his departure means City will be relying on makeshift options in the role.
Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis, both of whom prefer operating in midfield, have been used in the role, while central defenders Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones and Manuel Akanji could all also operate out of position.
But after City have aggressively attacked the transfer market in the last two windows, it seems counter-productive that they don’t address what many perceive to be the final issue to resolve in their strongest starting XI.
Tino Livramento has been touted as a possible target but Newcastle do not want to sell the England international, who still has three years remaining on his deal at St James’ Park, which would make any potential deal expensive.
Flamengo right-back Wesley has also been suggested as an alternative option but regardless of who they go for, it would be a mistake for City not to sign a recognised right-back this summer.
A running joke was made for years about how City never signed a left-back and they ended that saga with the arrival of Ait-Nouri this summer.
They cannot allow the same issue to fester at right-back now, too.