Manchester City have reportedly agreed a fee in excess of £50m to sign Tottenham’s Kyle Walker – but how will he improve Pep Guardiola’s side? We check the stats…
City offloaded five ageing, long-term servants since the end of the season – including full-backs Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta – along with Jesus Navas and ‘keeper Willy Caballero.
Indeed, 31-year-old Clichy and 34-year-old Sagna were City’s most used full-backs last term, yet the former Gunners never fully fitted Guardiola’s style with the City boss experimenting with no fewer than seven different players in the wide, defensive roles.
So replacements and an injection of defensive youth were to be expected, but racing full-backs, or wing-backs, are almost as coveted as a defensive midfielder – and Walker is set to break the world record transfer fee for a defender.
The fee would be inflated by his ‘homegrown’ status, as Guardiola seeks to satisfy the Premier League ruling that requires teams to have a minimum of eight ‘homegrown players’ in a 25-man squad – but big fees rarely deter Manchester clubs.
Previous Englishmen have struggled at the Etihad, including the likes of Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair and Fabian Delph – but Walker would be more than a squad player to appease quotas.
The England international would almost certainly be a guaranteed starter next season and significantly increase City’s already lethal attacking threat, while bolstering defensive weaknesses with athleticism to track back.
Guardiola’s perfect start in England fell apart during October last year, primarily due to defensive and goalkeeping frailties. Those recurring stutters in form cost the Spaniard a genuine title challenge during the closing months.
However, with new keeper Ederson signed from Benfica for £34.9m in June and, potentially, one of the league’s most formidable full-backs added to the ranks, Guardiola is setting his stall for a title-challenging second term.
For detailed information, click here: Cheap Football shirts
