Manchester City are officially the best team in the world. And with that can be added the best squad in the world.
Even with the demanding nature of the Champions League and the Premier League, most matches require more than 11 players to compete. Although Pep Guardiola does not have a large team, he has complete faith in nearly every player.
However, a recurring theme this season has been whether the team is overly thin. Not so much in terms of actual numbers as in terms of the players the manager feels he can trust. During Rodri’s suspensions, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne’s extended absences, and Ilkay Gundogan’s departure for Barcelona, there hasn’t been a suitable replacement.
The story of the Premier League season thus far, in which the champions are hardly in crisis but results have drastically tailed off since they won their first six – is one of City not quite getting their alchemy right. . Not that there has to be, because other players have different qualities. Guardiola still hasn’t discovered the combination that crushes opponents and helps the Blues win championship after championship.
A glance at the XI revealed that none of the players City signed this summer were there. A second glance showed that none of the players City signed last summer were there either.
Man City left with £224m question
Jeremy Doku has had a strong start to life in Manchester. Erling Haaland would have most likely been there had he not been injured. 224 Million worth of talent signed over the last two summer windows remains on the bench. None of Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez, or Manu Akanji were on Guardiola’s squad that was selected to win a championship.
Those players’ task will be to secure a spot on the squad by the time of the next championship game. While Gomez has only ever been a squad member and Phillips will probably depart in January in search of more consistent playing time, Akanji has historically been essential to City. And the three players from this summer will all have plenty of chances to establish their value.
