From recent performances, Manchester City has shown signs of stabilizing and recovering. Considering that the winter transfer window has opened, if Manchester City can complete several important signings in succession, there is still hope to regain good competitiveness in the second half of the season. For Manchester City, which is in the rebuilding phase of the squad, it is completely acceptable to finish in the top four and successfully enter the Champions League next season. At present, Manchester City's recruitment operations are very fast, and there have even been confirmed gains.
In the view of outsiders, the reason why Manchester City performed poorly overall this season mainly comes from two aspects. The first reason is that the team suffered too many injuries, especially in midfield and defense, including De Bruyne, Rodri, Stones, Ake and others were hit by injuries. Especially Rodri. Since the Spanish international was injured, Manchester City's record has plummeted, sliding all the way to the bottom, almost withdrawing from the league title race before the season is halfway through, a situation that has not appeared in recent seasons. Kovacic, who replaced Rodri, performed far apart on both offense and defense, leaving Guardiola in a dilemma of "a good cook without rice".
The second reason is that with the aging of the team, there are too many veterans in the starting lineup, with poor running ability, and they can no longer keep up with the rhythm of many teams. This phenomenon is particularly prominent in several veterans such as De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Kyle Walker. Especially when the opponent has players with excellent speed and physical strength, Manchester City's midfield and backcourt cannot resist the opponent's impact at all. At the same time, with the decline in overall mobility, Manchester City's offensive rotation efficiency has dropped significantly, making it difficult for them to create enough scoring opportunities for the front line. This season, Haaland often appears helpless is a very intuitive example. At present, Guardiola has begun to adjust the team's "Achilles' heel", and several targeted signings are "on the string".
In the defensive midfielder position, Guardiola hopes to sign a player similar in style to Rodri, who can organize the team's offense and play the role of a midfield "gate" in defense. Previously, Manchester City was once very interested in Edson, who plays for Atalanta. However, Atalanta does not intend to let go of its core player in the winter window, and Edson's price is also very high, with an expected transfer fee of no less than 60 million euros. This made Manchester City finally "back down".
According to British media birminghammail, Manchester City has quietly changed its target and turned its attention to Douglas Luiz. The 26-year-old Brazilian international fell into trouble after landing in Serie A this season and failed to secure a starting position, with the player himself intending to leave. In terms of technical characteristics, as an all-round midfielder, Douglas Luiz not only excels in long passes and through balls on the offensive end, but also in interceptions and tackles on the defensive end. It is reported that Guardiola has personally endorsed the signing of this Brazilian international, and Manchester City is expected to bring him back to the Premier League on loan.
On the winger position, Savigno on the right has gradually found his form recently, but on the left, Doku and Grealish are still struggling. At present, Manchester City regards Malmush as the top priority for forward recruitment and has already started the transfer operation. In terms of technical characteristics, Malmush can play as a center forward and winger, with excellent speed, dribbling and shooting ability, contributing 18 goals and 12 assists, one of the best forwards in European football this season. According to Egyptian media EParena, Malmush's transfer has actually been settled, and Manchester City has finalized this 18-goal and 12-assist attacker with a transfer fee of 50 million euros. Unless unexpected, Malmush will become Manchester City's first signing in the winter transfer period. (The pictures come from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete it)