Is a move to Man City the right one for Isco?

During every transfer window, Man City are linked with the world’s best and with the funds available to them, it comes as no surprise. With Manuel Pellegrini starting his Man City reign with the signings of Fernandinho and Jesus Navas, this is part of the plan to bring a new style of football to the Etihad Stadium.

He may have to be careful though, as dealing with a big budget, big ambition and a squad full of internationals requires a lot of patience. Not only will Pellegrini have to keep the current squad happy, he will also want to bring in his own players, which is standard practice for any new manager. With Pellegrini leaving Malaga at the end of last season and guiding them to the Champions League quarter finals, it looks like Man City’s owners feel he could win the competition with a better squad developed with the substantial funds available.

A standout performer for Malaga last season was Isco, a Spanish international attacking midfielder. And at 21, he could be an important player for Man City in the future. However, being an attacking midfielder at Man City means you have to get in line or re-train in another position. Already at Man City are Jesus Navas, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Samir Nasri and Scott Sinclair who can all play behind a lone striker. New signing Fernandinho and even James Milner can be used there too in emergency. Unless one of these players goes, it looks like Isco will find his early career at Man City a frustrating time.

Maybe he is better than what Man City already have but the players mentioned are on big contracts and will need to be played as if Man City can’t sell them, the owners won’t be happy with big wages sat on the bench or at home. City are also dangerously close to flouting various Financial Fair Play rules, not helped with the splurge on Fernandinho, so it makes no economic sense to have so much money spent on no game time. This is not even to mention the personalities of these players who can be demanding and have World Cup places to compete for.

David Silva is by no means first choice with Spain, Aguero and Tevez have a lot of competition with Argentina and a lack of starts will cost Samir Nasri his start with France. Tevez and Nasri have a track history of getting unsettled easily so having two players making over £100k a week and who cost nearly £50m combined to buy, sat unhappy behind new boy Isco will be a tough challenge for Pellegrini.

If Isco was to be re-trained in a different position, he would preferably go into centre midfield where he could use his passing range and variety. However, with Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, James Milner, Gareth Barry, Jack Rodwell and Javi Garcia already available to Pellegrini, it’s just as unlikely to lead to immediate first team action.

Isco deserves to play in the first team of whichever club he plays for and at Man City, he may well find himself not playing as much as he would like. With the World Cup just around the corner, he will be in the same boat as everyone else and would want games to get into the incredibly stacked Spain squad. Isco could possibly sign for Man City in the future or when a few players have left so he has more opportunities. Pellegrini will have a lot to do at Man City and bringing in too many players will give him a tough start. He should try and sell before he brings more players in to give himself a better chance of survival as Man City manager in an impatient environment and a difficult dressing room to take command of.