It’s come to my attention that, despite being one of City’s most important players of the last decade, Yaya Toure needs to be replaced sooner rather than later.
In recent times, it’s fair to say that Toure isn’t the same midfielder he once was; now unreliable on the ball and somewhat sloppy in his passing, Yaya Toure’s low ground coverage and poor defensive discipline is catching up with him.
At 32, his decline could be terminal and some fans are persisting on the Ivorian to play further forward to accommodate his play-style. However, with the attacking quartet City now possess, there’s simply no reason to make unnecessary sacrifices for Yaya and with his price still presumably quite high, now is the right time to cash in on him.
But who would replace him if he were to be sold? No player in the world of football contains the same blend of attributes Yaya does, but here are four possible midfielders who could potentially fill the void Toure would leave.
Paul Pogba
The most obvious candidate to replace Toure is French midfielder Paul Pogba. A player under the pursuit of many top clubs around Europe, including an apparent interest from City themselves this summer, Pogba is the closest thing to Toure you will find.
The Juventus man acquires a similar approach to his game as Toure; his strength, creative spark and power to drive forward with the ball are all equally thrilling to watch. Since moving to Italy in 2012, he has proven himself on the biggest stages possible – the Champions League and World Cup.
2013’s Golden Boy winner was criminally overlooked the last time he played in Manchester, but a return to England in blue this time would be welcomed in open arms by City fans and with characteristics that suit a player of the same position as Yaya, the Frenchman would be my top candidate for this potential replacement.
However, the fight for his signature could be long, painful and unsuccessful as the demanding Pogba is wanted by top clubs like Barcelona and Chelsea.
Marco Verratti
Another possibility would be the signing of young Italian midfielder Marco Verratti from PSG. Once unknown and unproven, Verratti has seen significant improvement in his game after joining the French giants from Serie B side Pescara. His displays in the Champions League have specifically shone and granted him a well deserved starting spot for the Ligue 1 champions.
Now at 22, Marco Verratti has disciplined himself from consistent bookings and careless passing errors to being one of Europe’s elite young talents. Playing at the base of the PSG midfielder, controlling the game and looking every part of an experienced world class talent – Verratti no longer needs his hand held in this position.
Although the French team are financially sound and wouldn’t look to sell on Verratti, the regular signings PSG make could force the Italians hand and City would be stupid not to consider looking at him. Alongside Fernandinho in City’s midfield, Verratti could be the link from defense to attack Yaya Toure provides.
Blaise Matuidi
Onto another take on the kind of traits City would miss without Yaya Toure and French midfielder Blaise Matuidi could potentially be an excellent replacement for the Ivorian. His irrepressible energy provides PSG with a box-to-box midfielder who is a threat in front of goal and dependable behind the ball.
This season already, Blaise has scored 4 times for club and country; and adding goals to his already impressive game would make Matuidi one of the best all-round players to pick from in this position. He is, again, moving up another level this year it seems and as potential short-term replacements go, you wouldn’t find many arguing with the signing of Blaise Matuidi.
At 28, Matuidi is the oldest out of the bunch I have chosen and would, like I said, only be a short term replacement, but his ability to play in Yaya’s position is unquestioned. However, his tough tackling, high energy style of play is similar to that of Fernandinho and is maybe not what City would need should Yaya leave.
Olivier Ntcham
My final selection is City youngster Olivier Ntcham. Certainly more of a long term replacement, and not nearly as proven as the above trio are, Ntcham is already a City player and putting him into the City starting lineup would be a huge deal easier.
I have already wrote a piece about Ntcham’s performances on his current loan at Genoa here but I am so impressed by his raw talents in midfield that I just had to mention him again. Ntcham’s stand out trait is his strength, you only have to look at the lad and see the muscles around his neck to see that he’s a powerhouse.
His willingness to learn and improve can’t be criticized and City fans would have to give Ntcham a lot more time than other possible replacements, should he ever get a crack at first team football. Perhaps with a view to assessing if he is viable to replace the Ivorian icon, City are reportedly keeping close tabs Ntcham after his eye-catching start at Genoa.
Others worth mentioning
Sergio Busquets, Radja Nainggolan, Ilkay Gundogan, Claudio Marchisio, Kevin Strootman,Thiago Alcantara.
