da apostebet： When a new manager comes into a club, the first thing he should look to do is make his mark on it. That doesn’t simply mean buying players and changing the squad. It also means getting the best out of the players who are already there.
da betcris： In Pep Guardiola’s first interview as a Manchester City manager, at his unveiling last weekend, Guardiola talked about honing the ‘body language’ between the group. But then you have to get the right players to bring the group as it stands to the next level.
It’s clear that there are parts of City’s squad that need urgent refreshing. There’s an ageing core of the team which has been helped of late by the signings of Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, but that needs extra work.
It’s also clear that City’s full back positions are problematic, but it’s also clear that world football seems to be suffering a shortage of top quality full backs for the moment.
With these things in mind, here are six additions that Guardiola could make to complete his transformation of Manchester City this summer…
Bruno Peres
Whilst there clearly is a dearth of high-functioning full backs, the one name that pops up over and over again is Torino full back Bruno Peres.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/527171/Pep-Guardiola-Torino-Bruno-Alves
The Brazilian full back burst to the attention of the wider footballing world in the 2014/15 season when he ran the length of the pitch to score a wonder goal for Torino against Juventus in the derby delle mole.
Peres comprises pace and ability on the ball, all the athleticism needed to play at full back, and he’d certainly provide an option for Guardiola beyond Bacary Sagna and the ageing Pablo Zabaleta.
Aymeric Laporte
In a world short of available full backs, perhaps the best thing to do from Guardiola’s point of view is to decide to play with three centre backs instead.
If he does go down the 3-4-3 route, or something similar – as he he did at Bayern from time to time – then more centre back additions are needed.
In Aymeric Laporte, City would be getting one of the world’s best young centre backs – a young man who can be moulded perfectly into whatever Guardiola wants to get from him. He may have just signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao, but maybe that just means Sheik Mansour will have to spend a few million more than before. No biggie for him, surely.
Toni Kroos
Another of those names that just won’t stop being mentioned in connection with Manchester City. Toni Kroos was one of the players of Euro 2016 in France this summer, pulling the strings excellently for a Germany side who played some of the tournament’s best football en route to the semi final before losing to hosts France.
But the fact that his Euros has now come to an end probably means we’ll hear about some movement in the coming days if he is to move on from Real Madrid.
His passing ability and composure on the ball make him an obvious Pep Guardiola link, and alongside Ilkay Gundogan or Fernandinho, Kroos could be given the freedom to amble around the midfield and keep City’s possession ticking over.
Leroy Sane
Just like Kroos, if Sane is to come to City, expect some movement fairly soon now that Germany are making their way home from France.
The Schalke winger almost score with his first touch in Germany’s semi final defeat to France, and he’s shown that he is a livewire attacker who is confident on the ball and possesses frightening pace. With Sane on one side and Sterling on the other, Guardiola would have some serious firepower to overrun opposition defences, especially on the counter attack.
John Stones
Along with his Everton teammate Ross Barkley, John Stones was perhaps the only outfield England player in the Euro 2016 squad not to be tainted by failure in France this summer.
Stones didn’t play a minute for Roy Hodgson this summer, but it is clear that he is an impossibly composed young defender who is extremely good on the ball – something that Pep Guardiola has surely noticed.
That being said, Stones’s weakness is clearly his decision-making and his penchant for making a mistake. We think Pep Guardiola could iron this out of his game, but we can also see why City fans may not want to take the chance – especially given the serious financial outlay.
Luis Suarez
The wildcard – Luis Suarez is quite clearly loving life in Barcelona, having won five major trophies in two seasons, failing to win one competition, and that was retaining the Champions League.
But that doesn’t mean that Suarez wouldn’t leave the Catalan giants. If the money of the Premier League and the chance to work with Pep Guardiola aren’t enough temptation – though Barcelona are hardly paupers – then maybe the motivation he needs will come from this: things can only get worse at Barca.
His strike partners and good mates, Lionel Messi and Neymar have both found themselves in legal troubles recently. Add to that the fact that Barcelona having shelled out massively on renewing their contracts and, as a result, have been unable to keep Dani Alves for another season, and it looks like Barcelona aren’t quite going to be the force they were last season.
On top of that, how can you keep that sort of obscene treble and double-winning form going for more than two seasons? Perhaps the fatigue will get to them next year, and perhaps it’s wise to jump ship.
But then again, it’s Barcelona. So perhaps the soothsaying is a long way off the mark!