Since Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City back in 2009, his extreme wealth has enabled the club to sign some of the world’s best players.
However, over the past six years, the Blues have established themselves as one of the superpowers in world football and are now recognised across the globe, not just as a football club, but as a brand and as a force to be reckoned with.
With the allure of Champions League football and competing on multiple fronts, as well as the potentially high wages that are associated with it, it is inevitable that City will be linked to the best of the best in terms of players.
As with most clubs, rumours are often bounded around months before the transfer window is even officially open. Now into December, the rumours are being published even thicker and faster.
So in this article, we will be selecting FIVE players who City would benefit from having in their squad and justifying my decisions.
Of course, every club in the world would love to have Lionel Messi amongst their squad – and even though the Argentine has been linked with an Etihad switch on multiple occasions over the past couple of years, we will be discussing more realistic transfer targets.
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE PLAYERS!
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Hector Bellerin
It is well known amongst football fans that City’s current full backs are ageing. They may be experienced, but they are ageing nonetheless.
This season hasn’t necessarily been a precursor for their decline, with most of them in fine form when they haven’t been injured, but Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna are both aged 30 or above.
Whilst there aren’t many top bracket right backs available at the moment – in fact, there aren’t many really quality right-backs at all right now – City would definitely benefit from signing a young right back with huge potential.
One such player is 20-year old Hector Bellerin of Arsenal who, although highly anticipated to replace Dani Alves at former club Barcelona, would definitely be an unbelievable coup for City if they managed to lure the Spaniard to the Etihad.
Bellerin has already impressed at the Emirates and, despite the fact that Arsenal are in a position where they no longer need to sell their best players, they may possibly be tempted if a substantial offer was made.
Ricardo Rodriguez
Meanwhile, on the other side of Manuel Pellegrini’s back four, Gael Clichy and Aleksander Kolarov are again both aged 30 and over.
Wolfsburg left-back Ricardo Rodriguez is another player who has been consistently mentioned alongside City in the transfer columns over the past few transfer windows, and with City having signed Edin Dzeko and Kevin De Bruyne from the Bundesliga outfit in recent times, perhaps the good transfer relations could continue.
The 23-year old Swiss left-back would the ideal long-term replacement for older players like Kolarov and Clichy, especially the former since Rodriguez is renowned for his pinpoint crossing ability, as well as his quality from set-pieces, which has seen him become Wolfsburg’s first choice penalty taker.
Having signed defensive players Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando from FC Porto over the past couple of years, City missed out on left-back Alex Sandro, who left the Portuguese side in favour of Serie A giants Juventus last summer.
Paul Pogba
Speaking of Juventus, midfielder Paul Pogba has been heavily linked to City for some time now. The ex-Manchester United man was recently spotted back in Manchester and, while it would probably be too much to suggest from this evidence that a return to the Premier League is imminent for the Frenchman, impressive performances against City in both legs in the Champions League this season may have persuaded City’s senior executives that the 22-year old might just have been worth the £70-odd million that was quoted last summer.
His ability to control play from the centre of the field, his box-to-box nature and his long distance shooting ability would all make Pogba an invaluable acquisition for the Blues.
With central midfield another ageing area of the Manchester City squad, Pogba is regarded by many to be the ideal replacement for Ivorian powerhouse Yaya Toure, who has struggled to maintain a consistent run of form for some time now.
Isco
Another midfielder who has been linked with a switch to Manchester City over the past couple of years is Isco.
The 23-year old was managed and developed by current City boss Manuel Pellegrini during his time at Malaga.
He came close to wearing a sky blue shirt in the summer of 2013, before ultimately joining Real Madrid.
The Spaniard has been in relatively impressive form this season, with three goals and six assists thus far in all competitions, and starting in 15 of his 19 appearances under new coach Rafa Benitez.
Due to their similar positions, many regard Isco to be the natural heir to the ingenious City playmaker and fellow Spanish compatriot David Silva’s throne, with both players technically gifted.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Although the Blues have arguably the best striker in the world in Sergio Aguero, the Argentine has regularly struggled for fitness. Youngster Kelechi Iheanacho has shone on occasion when given the chance.
However, Manuel Pellegrini’s preferred second choice is Ivorian forward Wilfried Bony has scored just 5 times in 10 starts for City this season, failing to impress, with over 40 shots in a period which Bony himself labelled the ‘worst spell’ of his entire career.
Having allowed Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic to leave last summer without a definitive replacement, City may well be lamenting their naivety.
Meanwhile, 26-year old forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has impressed with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, netting 17 goals in 15 league games so far this season, as well as turning provider on 3 occasions for his teammates.
Proven for Dortmund on both a domestic and European scale, City’s heads may well be turned, although several other clubs have been linked, including Liverpool, now under the management of former Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp.
