3 Areas Manchester City Need To Strengthen Ahead Of Next Season

Manchester City has ended the season on a reasonably high note. The Premier League and Football League Cup are significant achievements. However, the revolution under Pep Guardiola has just started progressing, and there is a lot more we can expect. Pep will have one eye on the treble in the coming seasons, and more importantly the Champions League.

There is no doubt that Manchester City juggernaut will roll as a well drilled confident unit next season. But the season will pose new and varied challenges. Title contenders will learn from what Liverpool did to disturb Manchester City’s build-up play and will try to ruffle Sky Blues’ tiki-taka style of play. The other teams who might not be confident to go neck and neck with Premier League champions will focus on parking the bus, which has posed a tough nut to crack for City this season.

Whatever be the approach, Manchester City is the team to beat, and every club will carefully watch and plan their well-knit strategy to face the best team in England, if not Europe. Pep’s men will be wary of the challenges that lie ahead. Fatigue was a significant factor that affected the Cityzens in the season that has just ended. The kind of passing, patient build-up football that the Cityzens play is exceptionally taxing and demands high levels of concentration.

Players need adequate rest between games. With Sky Blues going strong for all the major competitions, availability of sufficient replacements will be crucial to success. The bench strength will be tested in the long gruelling season.

On top of that, the upcoming season is going to be fascinating as Manchester City’s players will be involved in the World Cup and will be joining the pre-season with a minimal break.

Given the high-intensity football that the Cityzens play, here are three key positions that Pep Guardiola might want to beef up ahead of the long and exciting season, and the promising future that beckons Manchester City Football Club and its fans.

#1 Central Midfield

Fred will be one on City's radar this summer

The first player whom the Manager would add to the team sheet for any major game would be Fernandinho, a constant for Manchester City in the Premier League winning season. He has been City’s most dependable and pivotal player this season and has shielded the defence pretty well amid rotating centre-backs.

The workload Fernandinho has carried, and the shifts he has put in has been phenomenal. Fernandinho deserves to start for the Canarinho at the World Cup ahead of Real Madrid’s Casemiro.

However, the central midfield job that he undertakes demands a lot of effort and concentration, which means that he cannot be playing a role in all the tournaments and deserves much-needed breaks in between.

Manchester City does not have a like-for-like replacement and has been using Ilkay Gundogan in the Fernandinho role. To Gundogan’s credit, he has put in a decent shift whenever required. However, Gundogan is more of a deputy for Kevin De Bruyne and is better used as a creative player linking up in build-up plays.

There are reports linking the Cityzens with Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred this season. Fred is similar to Fernandinho in terms of playing style and can prove to be an able deputy. The central midfielder has enjoyed a good season with Shakhtar, and if reports are accurate, Manchester United too have an eye on him.

Fred will be linking up with Manchester City’s Brazilian quartet at the Mundial and could be on course to make it a quintet, next season.

#2 Attacking Midfield

Andres Iniesta looks set for a player-coach role at Manchester City

Kevin De Bruyne has enjoyed a fantastic season. However, the team has looked unconvincing when the El Mago David Silva doesn’t play. Silva is a genius with the ball and effortlessly unlocks tight defences. He is also ageing and may have a year or two of prime football left in him.

Manchester City needs to find a suitable replacement quickly and nurture an able deputy when the master is still around. With De Bruyne and Silva playing the crucial offensive roles in the midfield, the deputy may need to be content with some bench time during big games. Hence, some of the elites around like Isco may not find that City offer to be lucrative.

Fortunately, the Sky Blues do not really need a long-term prospect as they are blessed with budding young talent in the form of Brahim Diaz and Phil Foden.

If reports are to be believed, these youngsters may be guided by one of the best in the business. If Andres Iniesta joins City as a player-coach, he not only fills the void that Mikel Arteta is likely to leave behind but will also be an excellent backup for David Silva and a mentor for the jubilant young guns.

#3 Centre Forward

Wilfried Zaha has a lot to prove, and Manchester City provides a wonderful platform

Ardent fans of Manchester City still rue the selling of Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo. In particular, Dzeko was a talisman for City up front, providing height in terms of stature to City’s offence, and who would forget his headed goals and of course the most important one against QPR in 2012.

Baring Aguero, Raheem Sterling has scored the lion's share of goals for the team this season. However, the fact remains that Sterling missed more than what he converted, and if he had turned in the majority of the chances that came by, he would have indeed been up there with the likes of Mo Salah and Harry Kane in the goal scoring chart.

Perceivably, in the absence of Aguero and Jesus, City need a focal point, which the squad currently lacks. Pep Guardiola should have learnt by now that employing a false number nine has not panned out as expected.

Manchester City needs to buy a forward this season, to add some much-needed depth to their squad. Adding a forward will also keep both Aguero and Jesus on their toes, and Guardiola can even afford to play them both together if needed, now that Benjamin Mendy has returned to full fitness.

Wilfried Zaha has been irking Crystal Palace with big money move away from Selhurst Park all season. It would be a good signing for Manchester City. Although Zaha plays his trade with Crystal Palace as a left winger, he has been used in the centre-forward position in the absence of a striker and has fared well.

Zaha possesses good pace and could be a focal point for Manchester City in the absence of Aguero and Jesus. He has a point to prove at Manchester and will take the opportunity to be a part of the Manchester City revolution with glee.