Manchester City is one of the unbeaten teams in Europe and the only one in the Premier League. Of the four matches that Man City has played, Pep Guardiola’s team managed to get full points with a record of 11 goals and conceding 2 goals.
As a result, Man City occupies the Premier League standings with a collection of 12 points and a difference of 2 points to Tottenham Hotspur in 2nd place. Man City’s consistency at the start of the season, in first place, seemed to send a message of Man City’s readiness to defend the Premier League trophy this season.
In second place, Man City’s consistency shows the quality of the squad they have. Man City is not remaining silent in the player transfer market. The reason is that several players who were considered important last season chose to leave the club nicknamed The Citizens. There are two players who were often used by Pep Guardiola last season and chose to leave. Ilkay Gundongan moved to Barcelona and Riyad Mahrez to Al-Ahli, a Saudi Arabian club.
Apart from that, Man City also let in several players who strengthened the depth of last season’s squad. Joao Cancelo was loaned out again after previously going to Bayern Munich and this season to Barcelona, Aymeric Laporte followed in Mahrez’s footsteps by moving to a Saudi Arabian club, Benjamin Mendy to FC. Lorent.
And surprisingly allowed talented young striker Cole Palmer to Chelsea. Palmer scored in the Community Shield and European Super Cup. When someone goes, someone comes. Guardiola then looked for players who could fill the void. Gundongan was replaced with Roberto Kovacic who was bought from Chelsea. Mahrez was replaced by young and agile striker Jeremy Doku. At the back, Guardiola is very keen to get the signature of young defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.
Meanwhile, Guardiola chose Matheus Nunes from Wolves to be Kevin de Bruyne’s back-up. De Bruyne is prone to injury because of his dominant role in the team and there are no backup players for that role. Man City’s steps in the player transfer market are starting to have an effect. The first effect is that the depth of the squad is maintained. Man City’s success in winning the treble last season cannot be separated from the depth and balance of the squad they have.
The depth of this squad will also equip Man City to face new challenges this season. At the very least, the target of winning another trophy is not impossible considering the composition of the team squad that Man City currently has.
The second effect of Man City’s path in the player transfer market is the refreshing and regeneration of the squad. However, Man City needs refreshment through the purchase of new players. The aim of the refreshment is to ensure that the hunger to win trophies is maintained and even awakened.
Apart from that, the purchase of these players is part of the regeneration. Gvardiol and Doku are still 21 years old. Both of them could become Man City’s new generation alongside players like Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez. Behind Man City’s foresight in the player transfer market, Guardiola also has the advantage of utilizing these players. These players did not come to get rid of existing players, but they became part of the squad.
It is very clear that in Guardiola’s squad there are no special players. The player’s price is not a guarantee of getting the desired place and position. For example, Gvardiol is usually a central defender. In the two matches played in the Premier League this season, Gvardiol played as a left back. In fact, his original position is central defender. In the other two matches, this young player from Croatia was on the bench.
This means that Guardiola does not have a special player. Each player gets a rotation of playing hours. The definite goal is for the players to maintain rhythm and condition. So when he is deployed, the player doesn’t need long to adapt. In other words, Guardiola builds habits for players to play within his game system and strategy. Furthermore, Guardiola also dared to play his players in different positions. Gvardiol is just one example. Also, Julian Alvarez who plays as a lone striker must play behind Erling Haaland.
This system allows Guardiola to have many choices if the competition gets tighter and the schedule gets busier. The solution exists thanks to the rotation factors created and also the results of experiments on playing players in positions that are not their original positions.
Man City will be one of the teams worth beating this season. The depth of the squad is maintained thanks to foresight in the player transfer market this season.
ASL
