Six goals in two Premier League games hardly suggests City have an attacking problem.
But look at the options available to Enzo Maresca, and it becomes easier to understand why Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye are being discussed with the deadline so close.
Friday’s 4-1 win at Crystal Palace was City’s best performance of the new season.
Rayan Cherki scored twice, Erling Haaland did the same, and Antoine Semenyo supplied the cross for the opening goal.
There was, though, something unusual about the side Maresca selected.
Phil Foden started on the right, despite obviously being far happier operating inside, while the bench offered little in the way of natural width.
Maresca has been quite specific about the type of winger he likes.
Speaking during City’s pre-season tour after an impressive performance from Ryan McAidoo, Maresca described the teenager as “the kind of winger I love”.
He explained why.
“You need players wide who can beat players one v one,” said the City head coach.
That comment looks particularly relevant now.
City have lost several attacking options
The squad Maresca has today looks very different to the one he inherited.
Sávio has joined Tottenham in a £75m deal, potentially rising by a further £10m, while Omar Marmoush has also moved to Spurs on loan.
Jack Grealish could yet return to Everton before Tuesday’s deadline.
Jérémy Doku’s injury has reduced the options further.
City are hardly short of attacking talent. Cherki can create from almost anywhere around the penalty area, Semenyo brings pace and power, and Foden is perfectly capable of starting from a wide position.
But those players don’t necessarily give Maresca exactly what he described in pre-season: someone who stays wide, takes on his full-back and creates something by beating him.
That helps explain the names appearing on City’s list.
Why Cody Gakpo makes sense
Gakpo looks the more obvious fit if City want someone who can contribute immediately.
He knows the Premier League, can operate from the left or through the middle and carries a goal threat without needing to dominate possession.
City have already made their interest known to Liverpool and the Netherlands international is understood to be open to the move.
There is an attraction beyond his versatility.
Gakpo can receive the ball wide and drive towards goal, but he is also comfortable making runs inside when the full-back provides the width.
That would give Maresca choices.
He could ask Gakpo to stretch the pitch in one game and play closer to Haaland in another.
The fact he has already spent more than three years in English football also removes some of the uncertainty that comes with a deadline-day signing from overseas.
Ndiaye offers something different
Iliman Ndiaye is not the same type of player.
The Guardian reported last week that City had identified the Everton forward as a target following Savio’s departure, with Everton valuing him at around £80m.
Ndiaye tends to do his best work with the ball close to his feet.
He can start from the left but likes drifting into central areas, carrying possession through pressure and combining with players around him.
Where Gakpo offers size, running power and a more obvious goal threat, Ndiaye is particularly good at receiving possession in crowded areas and finding a way out.
That could be useful against opponents who spend long periods defending around their own penalty area.
There is also less certainty over whether Ndiaye will be available to City.
Tottenham are pushing hard to sign him and Fabrizio Romano says Spurs have already reached an agreement with the player and his representatives.
City remain in the background, but they may need events elsewhere to fall their way.
What does Maresca actually need?
This is where the two transfer stories become more interesting than simply asking which player is better.
Maresca doesn’t lack good attackers.
He has Haaland, Cherki, Foden and Semenyo. Doku will return from injury. Other players can fill in across the front line.
What he currently lacks is depth in a specific position.
The Palace game offered a good example. City were excellent, but there wasn’t an obvious winger sitting on the bench waiting to offer an alternative option.
That may be manageable across the opening weeks of a season. It becomes more difficult when Premier League, Champions League and domestic cup fixtures begin arriving together.
Gakpo would offer experience, goals and flexibility.
Ndiaye would offer close control, ball carrying and another player comfortable operating between wide and central positions.
Neither would simply replace Savio like for like.
They would give Maresca another way of constructing his front three.
Palace showed both sides of the argument
There is an obvious counterpoint to all of this.
City have scored six goals in their opening two league games and have just beaten Palace 4-1 away from home.
Nobody watching Cherki and Haaland at Selhurst Park would have come away thinking City were short of attacking quality.
But transfer decisions are not made on one afternoon.
Maresca has already told us what he likes from his wingers. City’s summer business has subsequently removed several of those options from his squad.
That is why the late interest in Gakpo and Ndiaye makes sense.
The issue isn’t whether City can score goals without another winger. They plainly can.
It’s whether Maresca has enough of the type of winger he wants to get through an entire season.
With little more than a day of the window remaining, City don’t have long to decide.
For updates on City throughout the season, take a look at our LIVE! Premier League 2026/27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments page.
