Manchester City have been busy in the transfer window this winter trying to add seek new names to the club. The major addition is the signing of Aymeric Laporte from Athletico Bilbao for £57m which was his release clause.
Manchester City decided to get a new defender to add to their current squad after the consistent injury to captain Vincent Kompany. Eliaquim Mangala has completed a move to Everton, while Stones and Nicholas Otamendi the only centre back options at the Etihad stadium.
The need for a new defender is understandable by Pep but why spend that huge on a player when you could still navigate the whole season with what you have? Starting from Mangala, City have a defender who is prone to error but has improved massively in the last six months.
Why he is not given a chance till the end of the season and be the backup option to Stones and Otamendi? The French man has made as much error as John Stones made since he has joined from Everton in 2016 but Stones is given another chance to showcase himself.
This desire to always go to the market in every available opportunity shows a sign of desperation from Pep and selling clubs capitalize on this to jack up price for their players. City have paid premium price for all their players since Pep has joined the club. In fact, City have spent £225m on defenders alone in the last 18 months.
While at Barcelona, one of the notable things the Spanish tactician was known for was promoting the likes of Pedro and Busquest to the first team to displace players like Yaya Toure and Samuel Eto’o. Despite the fact that he had the ingenious Messi, lot of youth players came through the ranks under him at the club.
The claim that it’s because he once managed them at the La Masia was a reason he is willing to trust them. Also the fact that Barcelona B played in the Castilla which is equivalent to the English Championship shows a level of competitiveness the players have been exposed towas does not hold water.
However, if Pep is willing to go the lane of the City project in the academy, he will have spotted some rear gem among over a thousand players City have at the club academies around the world that he will have requested to join a team on loan with the hope of bringing them back. City has spent £200m on the club’s academy since 2014 alone. Which help in building their squad and trust on betting on the Etihad outfit.
This just shows that he’s not willing to take that lane anymore. The urges for instant and quick success have overshadowed his desire to groom youngsters at the club.
His ability as a coach has never been in doubt, in fact he is one of the greatest coaches that ever manage a side in the premier league but he need to do more with the academy graduates more especially at a club like City that has everything needed to take the club to the next height. That way his legacy will forever linger.