Manchester City bolstered its defense during transfer window, but lack of explosive strikers may hurt team
Manchester City went into the transfer window with the intention to beef up on its defense, and beef up it did as Pep Guardiola added a couple of center-backs in Nathan Ake from Bournemouth. The Dutchman came with a hefty price tag of £41m ($52.9m). To further bolster the unit, Benefica's Ruben Dias was added and he wasn't cheap on the pocket either with £61 ($78m) million. Winger Ferran Torres from Valencia at £20 ($25.8m) million added to options at Guardiola's disposal.
All eyes though will be on Dias as he is billed to fill in the void left by Vincent Kompany. While the money spent on the defenders totaled over £130m ($167m), there certainly is a lot resting on Dias' shoulders. In addition, there was also a question of how City would figure out what to do with their struggling offense at the moment. The absence of a bonafide striker will hurt their chances and perhaps that issue could have been tackled during the transfer window.
With Gabriel Jesus injured and Sergio Aguero picking up injuries, the attacking options look flimsy for Guardiola. Here's a quick look at their additions and move-outs during the transfer window:
IN: Pablo Moreno (Juventus, undisclosed), Ferran Torres (£20.8m), Nathan Ake (Bournemouth, £40m), Scott Carson (Derby County, loan), Ruben Dias (Benfica, £62m)
OUT: Ernest Agyiri (Released), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich, undisclosed), Jack Harrison (Leeds, loan), David Silva (Real Sociedad, free), Claudio Bravo (Real Betis, free), Gavin Bazunu (Rochdale, loan), Yangel Herrera (Granada, loan), Angelino (RB Leipzig, loan), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica, £13.7m/$17.6m), Paolo Fernandes (Castellon), Lukas Nmecha (Anderlecht, loan), Luka Ilic (Twente, loan), Tosin Adarabioyo (Fulham).
Talking about City's transfer window, the chief executive, Ferran Soriano spoke about how risks had to be taken and City did it in a well-measured way. "If we don't play good football, we have no business. Our whole business is built on that so we can't negate or avoid that and we have to take some risks. We believe that the risks we are taking are very well measured," he explained. "You have to look at the net spend, we sold Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich for €49m and that got lost, that money needed to be reinvested and we bought Ferran Torres, a similar player, for €23m so we sold for 49 and invested for 23."
“Look at the development of young players,” he added. “We have a development gap for players aged between 17 and 18 in England where B teams are not allowed. So, they are taken by the German clubs, who sell them back to us for 10 times the price. This is bad. We need to find ways to make sure talented English football players can develop here."
It hasn't been the ideal start for Manchester City this season. They are currently 14th on the points table and have won one of their three games played so far in the Premier League. After a 3-1 win against the wolves, they were handed A 5-2 beating at the hands of Leicester City and followed it up with a draw against Marcelo Bielsa rejuvenated Leeds United. With this week coming as much-needed break, City will have their work cut out as they will have to figure out a plan to beat a disciplined Arsenal on October 17.
What are your thoughts on Manchester City's signings during the transfer window?