In the middle of a season to forget, Manchester City are reportedly weighing up a free deal to sign a much-needed reinforcement who Pep Guardiola has been full of praise for in the past.
Man City transfer news
Whether it’s Valencia’s Pepelu or Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes, it’s clear that Manchester City must welcome midfield reinforcements in the January transfer window and during the summer. For the first time since Guardiola’s first season – in which he dropped the likes of Joe Hart – Manchester City are in need of a rebuild if they want to regain a dominant foothold on English football.
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Of course, the season-ending injury to Rodri far from helped but a torrid run of form has quickly presented a number of problems that those at the Etihad must solve. That said, replacing Rodri for at least the rest of the season should remain top of their wishlist, especially if it going to be a player of Guimaraes’ calibre.
The Newcastle star remains one of the most talented midfielders in the Premier League and is reportedly willing to leave St James’ Park as early as January to hand City an instant boost. And he may not be the only midfielder to arrive.
According to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, Manchester City are now weighing up a move to sign Paul Pogba in a free transfer ahead of his return from an 18-month suspension in March. The Frenchman saw his initial four-year ban reduced to just 18 months after a successful appeal and will now be looking to return and make an instant impact to rewrite the narrative.
If he’s looking to steal headlines, then a move to Manchester City would certainly be the way to go too. Having previously been at the centre of criticism during his Manchester United days, Pogba could now get the chance to become the catalyst behind his former rivals’ rebuild to deal the Red Devils the ultimate blow.
Guardiola could finally unlock “strong” Pogba
Unlocking Pogba was, ultimately, a task that Manchester United never quite managed to achieve in what left them with plenty of transfer regret. Whilst France benefitted from the best version of the midfielder as he played a crucial part in their 2018 World Cup win, the Red Devils were stuck trying their best to figure out the impossible combination to enjoy the same benefits.
The code word they were looking for all that time may well turn out to be ‘Guardiola’, however. The Manchester City boss knows exactly how to get the best out of players and the prospect of the Spaniard getting the chance to work with Pogba – even at the latter stages of the Frenchman’s career – should be enough to intrigue those at The Etihad into a potential deal.
The City boss has been full of praise for Pogba in the past, telling reporters as relayed by The Independent during the midfielder’s first Juventus spell all those years ago: “Now, he is a Juventus player. He’s very strong and very young. He’s shown his value, but I know he’s happy at Juve and I wish him a long career. Would I like to coach him? It doesn’t depend on me, but on the club.”