Pep Guardiola’s pre-season plans have been scuppered somewhat by Jorginho’s decision to follow Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea, despite weeks of speculation which suggested he was on the verge of moving to the Etihad Stadium.
Before the summer transfer window opened it seemed explicitly clear that Man City were eager to complete the signings of both Riyad Mahrez and Jorginho. They have only been successful in their pursuit with one of their targets, so Guardiola will need to re-assess his options ahead of the new season as he prepares his side for a title-defence.
Mateo Kovacic has been most widely reported as the man who City have identified as an ideal alternative to Jorginho, but with an £80 million asking price on his head it seems unlikely that the Croatia international will arrive at the Etihad Stadium.
And a recent report from Football-Italia suggests that Guardiola could be deliberating over a change in formation next season, or even pushing one of his centre-backs forward into a defensive midfield role.
According to the report, City have joined PSG, Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for Serie A veteran Leonardo Bonucci amid reports that the 31-year-old has asked to leave AC Milan.
Bonucci (valued at £31.5 million by Transfermarkt) has been one of Serie A’s most consistently solid defenders in recent years and Guardiola is known to be an admirer of the tough-tackling talent.
But with the likes of Aymeric Laporte, Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi already at the club, his arrival would significantly increase the intensity of the competition for places next season and inevitably result in the departure of at least one central defender.
With that being said, here are two players who could suffer from Bonucci’s arrival this summer…
Nicolas Otamendi silenced his doubters last season with a series of commanding displays at the heart of City’s defence.
Not only did Otamendi stamp out the fatal mistakes he had consistently made during the previous season, he proved he has the technical ability to step out from defence and play the role of a deep-lying playmaker.
But Bonucci’s arrival could provide him with some unwanted competition, and if he slips back into the form he demonstrated in the 2017/17 season there’s no doubt that the experienced Italian will be on hand to take his place in the first-team.
There’s no doubt that Otamendi would still have a key role to play, but Bonucci’s presence would certainly put his place in the starting XI in serious jeopardy.
Tosin Adarabioyo appears to possess the attributes of a ball-playing centre-back, but the competition for places at the club has left him on the fringes of the first-team squad.
Adding Bonucci to the equation is only likely to make matters worse for the 20-year-old academy product who will almost certainly need to seek a loan move away from the club if Guardiola is successful in his pursuit.
Based on his handful of appearances in City’ first-team so far, Adarabioyo should not be short of potential suitors to consider this summer.
A loan move represents Adarabioyo’s best possible chance to impress Guardiola on a regular basis and demonstrate his potential to rival clubs across Europe, so he certainly shouldn’t hang around at the Etihad if Bonucci eventually arrives at the club.
