When building a team, one of the areas that seems to be overlooked in importance is the full-back area. This is perhaps due to the severe lack of quality full backs around, but either way the weakness of the big teams in Europe such as Real Madrid and Barcelona seems to be the full-back area. However, no such thing was said of Manchester City in the summer with some even saying City possessed the best depth in that area in world football. Pablo Zabaleta is considered by some to be the best right-back in the world, and to this we added Bacary Sagna, a footballer who can not only do a job on both sides but also supply crosses into the box. However the complications for many were seen at left back. Aleksandar Kolarov was seen as the better of the pair we had, because his excellent drilled crosses and constant desire to overlap were a major reason we were able to win the title. On the other hand, Gael Clichy was seen by some as a weak link, as his lack of urgency in the final third and his seeming inability to supply a pinpoint cross often weakened us on the left side as it stopped us playing with natural width.
It would however seem that the tides have turned. Gael Clichy has somewhat summed up Man City’s revival after a few poor defeats to the likes of CSKA Moscow. His drive, determination and end product have spurred City to a 12 match unbeaten run and within this run we were only one win away from breaking a club record for consecutive wins. Now, we cannot pin this upturn in fortunes to a left back, but his performances have summed up the new mood around the camp that has seen City close the gap on Chelsea to just two points when many ‘experts’ had predicted us to have already been out of the title race. Since the game against Bayern Munich, Clichy has appeared nine times scoring 1 goal and making 3 assists. This remarkable run has seen him garner an average rating on Whoscored of 7.51 for the season. Only Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure can boast higher average ratings in the Manchester City squad. Kolarov on the other hand has dipped in form of late drawing criticism from some sections of the support. He could be seen as at fault for the goal in the Sheffield Wednesday game, as he didn’t get back quickly enough and he left Mangala completely exposed in the channel forcing the whole defence to shuffle across. Perhaps that is harsh, but there is no doubt his form of late has been poor, this coupled with Clichy’s revival has seen some City fans even calling for him to be sold in the summer.
I would argue that other than a winger, a new left back is a priority, but the debate comes over who to keep before we look at targets. The left back that makes more sense is no doubt Gael Clichy. Kolarov is essential at times to our attacking play, but his lack of effort in tracking back is staggering at times, he is often jogging back and he forces Mangala or Demichelis to come sprinting towards the touchline to track the attacking player. Our style of play causes this to happen, but Clichy is quicker and makes more of an effort defensively, which is why we must keep hold of him over Kolarov. The Serbian is no doubt a fan favourite due to his laid back personality and his excellent appearances on City TV, but he has become a liability of late, and it seems time to bring in a younger player with potential.
Potential replacements would be pricey as left backs are a rarity, and the competition to sign a top left back would be strong. One name floating around is Layvin Kurzawa of Monaco; he seems a realistic target as Monaco are not only cash strapped and willing to sell any of their players, but he is a young player who possesses the attributes to be an important attacking asset. In addition to this, he is also a player who will only get better with time. His record of 3 man-of-the-match appearances in 11 games should fill City fans with hope and confidence for the future.
However, there is no doubt that the marquee signing would be Ricardo Rodriguez, already seen by some as the best left back in Europe. He is not only a stable defender but an excellent crosser. In addition he is also a dead ball specialist, which would definitely be a welcome boost as set pieces are definitely a weakness for the Blues, with just 2 goals coming from them this season compared to 12 from title rivals Chelsea. The block here is the fee as he would probably cost over 30 million because Wolfsburg are on the up and he is the ‘in demand’ left back in European football. If we were to sign a winger and a central midfielder we might be left short of funds, so a cost cutting option may be needed.
If that is indeed the case, maybe Pellegrini will turn a player he knows well in Antunes of Malaga. The Portuguese defender is energetic and is useful both offensively and defensively. He could be a valuable asset that would be relatively cheap due to Malaga’s financial scares of late. The issue here of course would be he isn’t a young player likely to improve, so he would arguably be a stop gap player. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing however, look at the success of Martin Demichelis in that role since he joined from Atletico Madrid. If we were to look for an English option there could be potential in Ryan Bertrand who has impressed for Southampton, but the question of whether Chelsea would allow him to join their biggest competitors provides its own debate. An option that would be cheaper is Maxwell of PSG. The underrated Brazilian runs out of contract in the summer and it seems Laurent Blanc wants to pursue with young Lucas Digne rather than continue to play an ageing player. He could be a useful player for us. Other young players such as Raphael Guerriero of Lorient or Saed Kolasinac of Schalke could be targets; it all depends what Pellegrini would want in his defender. We certainly don’t panic buy anymore and he will want to think long and hard about possible targets. Saying that, we could look at our own youth academy to Angelino. He has featured on occasion in friendlies and bringing someone from the youth academy would be a strong statement of intent to doubters that we have.
Our left back situation remains uncertain in the sense that it is probable Kolarov or Clichy will leave. Clichy staying makes sense due to his defensive qualities and his upturn in form, but Kolarov’s excellent delivery creates chances so Manuel will have to ponder this. We could of course keep both left backs, but this seems unlikely due to recent circumstances. The idea of Clichy being kept over Kolarov seems to be a dramatic change in recent times.
