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Fernando Luiz Roza, or simply Fernandinho, is a defensive midfielder who was signed for €30 million from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 by Manchester City's former manager Manuel Pellegrini. Since then he has made over 170 appearances for The Citizens and has been the main man at the centre of their midfield.
Fernandinho is now 33 and even though he looks fitter and better than ever, he can't go on forever. Txiki Begiristain has a huge task in hand to find the perfect fit for Pep Guardiola's team. Manchester City were heavily linked to Jorginho last summer but the move couldn't happen due to several reasons and he ended up at City's title rivals Chelsea.
The Candidates
#1 Frenkie De Jong
City have been recently linked to the 21-year-old Dutch midfielder from Ajax. He can play as a ball-carrying centre-back, as a #6 or as an #8. Although interest is high for the player who can reach the heights of the legendary attacking midfielder and one of the best ever manager Johan Cruyff, City are the favourites to land the Dutchman.
Frenkie is not open to a move in January and therefore City might either approach Ajax in the January transfer window and then loan him out to Ajax for the rest of the season or wait till the Summer. Barcelona are City's main competition as the player has revealed his wish to play with arguably the greatest player of all time - Lionel Messi but rejecting Pep Guardiola is not easy.
City also have the financial strength to pay him more wages than Barcelona. His stats are also one of the best in Europe, a 91.8% pass success rate this year in 20 appearances and 54 out of 58 dribbles completed last year which resulted in an unreal rate of 3.12 successful ones per 90 minutes played, are Messi-esque numbers. According to the Mirror, Ajax have set a hefty asking price of 75 Million for the midfielder.
#2 Tanguy Ndombele
Another midfielder that Manchester City have been linked to this season is the 21-year-old French midfielder Ndombele who plays for Ligue 1 side, Olympique Lyon. The box to box midfielder caught the eye of various Premier League Clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea after his outstanding performance in Lyon's unexpected victory at the Etihad earlier this season.
On the way, he has drawn various comparisons to arguably one the best defensive midfielders in the world, N'Golo Kante and a result he is on the top of Maurizio Sarri's list to replace Kante if he leaves in the near future. Ndombele has recorded 2 assists in 20 games so far and a pass completion rate of 88% similar to Fernandinho's 87%.
Barcelona are also reportedly interested in the French midfielder and according to Sport, Barca's Technical Director and former left-back Eric Abidal is "in love" with the player and has already kept him as a backup if De Jong's deal doesn't work out. They have recognized the player as the "New Pogba".
#3 Ruben Neves
Ruben Neves made a shock switch to Wolves last season going from captaining Porto in the Champions League at the age of 20 to playing in the Championship. He rejected offers from Premier League clubs like Liverpool and decided to move to the Molineux Stadium. He then went on to win the Championship Player of the Month and guided Wolves back to the Premier League.
Interestingly he has scored more league goals from outside the box (7) than he has had touches inside the opposition penalty box (3). In his first Premier League game, he scored a world-class free kick against Everton, and from there on interest in him has increased. Neves is already getting compared to the great Xabi Alonso.
And according to Tuttosport, City might face heavy interest from other European giants as reportedly Juventus and Manchester United are keen to add him in their squads. Since the start, Ruben has played every single minute for Wolves this season and has an impressive 85% pass completion rate, he plays in a quite different system than De Jong, Ndombele, and Fernandinho who play in a more possession-based teams whereas Neves' main job when he gets the ball is either to play it long to the striker Raul Jiminez or play it out to the wingers.
This year Neves has created 33 chances and has won almost half of his duels. He has made 27 interceptions compared to Fernandinho's 22 and has made 28 blocks so far way more than Fernandinho's 17. Ruben Neves has an additional benefit which is very important, and that is "Premier League Experience".
Although Neves has played in England for only 2 years, he has much more experience than Frenkie De Jong and Tanguy Ndombele who play in arguably less competitive leagues.
Conclusion
Frenkie De Jong would be a perfect fit. He can play basically every position in the midfield and would be already familiar to a possession-oriented team. He is very press resistant which would be a massive boost when City play against teams who will press them like Liverpool, Spurs, and Chelsea.
He has also very good passing stats and can provide an extra edge in midfield when playing a team which forms a 5-4-1 formation while defending against which City have massively suffered in these past few seasons. Although Frenkie is not that good defensively when compared to other options like Ndombele and Neves he has an upper edge when it comes to dribbling and passing.
He likes to do layoffs and play short passes which is perfect for Pep's City. Frenkie is considered to be as the next Busquets and Pep is reportedly very impressed by the Dutchman. Attracting him to the Etihad will be a hard job for Txiki given that he is Barca's main priority. If City sign the midfielder either next year or in this January Window and give him to develop and work under the mentorship of Pep and Fernandinho, he can prove to be the final puzzle in Pep's jigsaw.
