Will Manchester City end this season with aloft silverware rolled up?
On Saturday, the Sky Blues will compete in their third consecutive FA Cup final. This time we will face Crystal Palace, a solid favourite to win the eighth competition.
However, this week, Erling Haaland claimed that his victory at Wembley did not constitute a successful season, but simply reflected the message given by manager Pep Guardiola after his semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest.
“This season was tough. Losing so many games is not good, it’s not boring and fun. So you have to finish well and get the trophy.” – Haaland.
So, regardless of the outcome this weekend, Etihad will need a mass squad overhaul this summer, but can the recently abdicated Premier League champion land on two top midfielders instead of one?
Manchester City is targeting new midfielders
It is clear that the city is hot on the new Central athlete crop paths that Morgan Gibbs White and Ebech Eze have been linking to in recent weeks.
But as far as PEP and CO are concerned, it’s not just British international. It could be released for one of Italy’s best midfielders at the moment.
Certainly, according to a report by Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City has stated that it will “submit a formal opening bid” when it attempts to sign AC Milan midfielder Tijani Reyjner.
The 26-year-old joined Milan from Arizona, which was reported two summers ago for 20 million euros (approximately £17 million).
Matt Sant’Angelo of that Milan podcast described the Dutch as “fantastic,” adding that he is “Milan’s best midfielder this season,” and Gazetta delo Sports’ Lucabiancin believes he is “one of the most beautiful players in the world.”
Following Rossoneri’s eighth in the Serie A and Wednesday night’s defeat to Coppa Italy to Bologna, Milan is very likely not qualifying for European competition at all, so they will certainly be under pressure to sell important assets.
The middle part of the new exterior of Manchester City
Manchester City met with representatives of Bayer Leverkusen to sign Florian Wiltz, according to reports from Christian Folk and Build’s Philip Arens.
But this certainly isn’t easy to get past the line, given that Liverpool and Bayern Munich “contact” with Wiltz’s aides, as reported by athletics David Ornstein.
Patrick Scherer of Kölner Stadt Anzeiger claims Wirtz is valued at around 100 million euros (approximately £84 million). This reflects the fact that, as athletic Michael Cox pointed out, he is “one of the most popular talents in football around the world.”
What’s clear is that Wirtz is a world-class talent and anyone who was able to sign him this summer will get a real difference maker.
But how will Wirtz, Reijnders, and soon to return from injury all fit together?
Now, let’s evaluate each of the statistics to help answer this question.
Wirtz vs reijnders vs rodri comparison | |||
---|---|---|---|
statistics | Wirtz 24/25 | Reijnders 24/25 | Rodriguez 23/24 |
exterior | 44 | 52 | 50 |
Min | 3,302 | 4,411 | 4,327 |
the goal | 16 | 15 | 9 |
assist | 15 | 5 | 15 |
shot | 118 | one two three | 84 |
Target % shot | 44.9% | 41.5% | 32.1% |
The path that was attempted | 2,170 | 1,848 | 4,588 |
Pass completed % | 80% | 87.9% | 91.9% |
Progressive Pass | 229 | 267 | 495 |
I tried taking it | 205 | 92 | 78 |
Tackle | 38 | 32 | 84 |
block | 38 | twenty four | 32 |
Intercept | twenty one | 49 | 34 |
Ball recovery | 141 | 143 | 287 |
Touches per 90 | 64 | 40 | 107 |
Statistics provided by TransferMarkt and FBREF.com |
As outlined at the table, these three players work very well as midfield trio, complementing each other’s strengths.
Rodri is very good at everything, and it’s no wonder Man City missed him that much this season. The Spaniards’ 107 touches and 4,588 passes per 90 are particularly eye-catching.
Meanwhile, Wirtz is the Chief Creator and one of only six players in Europe’s Big Five League, reaching both goals and assists this season, alongside Michael Oris, Bradley Barcola, Romer Lukaku and Gaetamperin.
Meanwhile, 205 attempted take-ons in German are also very noteworthy, ranking second in the Bundesliga this season on this metric.
Finally, we’re like an all-around, scoring a very impressive 15 goals in all competitions this season, actually getting the most shots in the trio, but his 49 interceptions also stand out.
The Dutch won over 4,400 minutes for Milan during this campaign, sitting in only one of the 53 matches. This is due to a pause, and his availability is certainly a valuable asset, so if Man City can assemble these three as a midfield trio, it may not be stopped again.
Related
As Guardiola pushes the deal, Florian Wiltz has a representative in Manchester
That’s not something they want to miss.