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It has been announced that after 11 years at the club, Manchester City’s inspirational captain Vincent Kompany will be leaving this summer.
The Belgian will be returning to his boyhood club, Anderlecht, where he will take up the role of player-manager, signing a three-year deal.
The 33-year-old will no doubt be remembered as one of the greatest players in Manchester City history. Since joining in 2008 from Hamburg for just £8 million, Kompany has gone on to become one of the Premier League’s best centre backs and led City during the most successful period in their history.
Kompany captained City to the title on four occasions, including in each of the past two seasons, taking 198 points in the process, making the two highest points totals in Premier League history. He also won two FA Cups, the first coming in 2011, with the second coming on Saturday, as City dismantled Watford.
In his final season, City won the domestic treble, becoming the first team in English football to do so. Kompany played a key role in this, with his spectacular winner against Leicester City, the final goal of his Premier League career, vital to them winning the title.
But with Kompany gone, City will now be looking to bring in a centre back to replace him. They will have money to spend, and Pep Guardiola will be looking for someone who fits his demands. Here are five men that City could sign to replace Kompany this summer.
#1 Harry Maguire (Leicester City)
For the second summer in a row, it looks like Maguire is going to be one of the most talked about names during the transfer window. Last summer, it was Manchester United who were prepared to make Maguire the most expensive centre back in football history.
However, that move didn’t go through, much to the frustration of Jose Mourinho, who fell out with his board as a result.
This time around it may be slightly harder for Leicester to hold on to the England international. Maguire has all the attributes that Guardiola looks for in a centre back. He is a reliable defender, capable of dealing with the top attacking players, as shown at last summer’s World Cup, and he has the ability to play the ball out from the back.
Maguire will also add to City’s list England players, which will help them meet registration requirements for their Champions League squad.
Also see : EPL Transfer News
#2 Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax)
Probably one of the most sought after players in European football at the moment, de Ligt will attract attention from almost all of Europe’s biggest club’s this summer. There has already been interest from Spanish giants Barcelona, who have also signed de Ligt’s Ajax teammate, Frenkie de Jong, while there is also interest from PSG and Juventus.
De Ligt has proven himself as one of, if not the, best young defenders in Europe by leading Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals this season, as well as the Eredivisie title, the club’s first in five years. The 19-year-old scored the winning goal against Juventus in the quarterfinals, and then added another against Tottenham.
The Dutch international obviously won’t come cheap this summer given his youth, and undoubted quality. However, he could be a top centre back for well over a decade and would be a more than capable replacement for Kompany.
Also see : Barcelona Transfer News, Serie A News
#3 Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham)
This one may be a bit of an outside bet, but in many ways, it makes sense for City to move for Alderweireld. City will lose an awful lot of experience in the centre of defence with Kompany leaving, while there is also a good chance that Nicolas Otamendi could also find himself on his way out of the Etihad in search of regular first-team football.
That would leave Aymeric Laporte and John Stones as City’s only natural centre backs, and those two are relatively inexperienced.
Because of a clause in his contract, Alderweireld can leave Tottenham for £25 million this summer. Given the quality and experience that he has, £25 million is a bit of a bargain in the current transfer market.
He has experience in the Premier League, and although he may only have two or three seasons left at the top level, he would be a vital addition to this Manchester City side this summer.
#4 Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona)
If Guardiola wants someone who is able to play the ball out from the back the way he has all his career, then what better way than to buy someone from his old side, who still play very much in his image? Umtiti has become a top centre back since joining Barcelona from Lyon in 2016.
The Frenchman now has an impressive list of honours on his CV. He has won two La Liga titles, two Copa Del Reys, and best of all, won the World Cup in 2018.
But there is now a chance that Umtiti could leave the Camp Nou this summer. He has struggled with knee injuries this season, and even when he was fit, he found himself behind Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet in the pecking order at Barcelona.
If Matthijs de Ligt moves to Barcelona, he will be even further down the order, and he may be keen to make the move to England.
#5 Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
Obviously, Pep Guardiola will be looking to build the strongest team possible as he attempts to win the Champions League, the one trophy he still hasn’t won at Manchester City. If he wants to sign the best centre back available to him, that would be Koulibaly.
The Senegalese defender is widely considered one of the best centre backs in the world and has been superb for Napoli over the course of the last few seasons.
It will be a difficult deal for Manchester City to pull this off if this is the way they choose to go and a seemingly unlikely one. Without a doubt, Napoli will demand a high fee, and they are under no pressure to sell.
City are already under the watch of UEFA because of an apparent breach of Financial Fair Play, so there’s only so much they can afford to spend this summer, and they may scupper hopes of a move for Koulibaly.
