After Claudio Bravo became Manchester City’s ninth signing of the summer transfer window, we spoke to journalist Euan McTear on what City fans could expect from the latest addition to their squad.
1. A lot of City fans are upset that this signing will end Joe Hart’s time at the club. Is there reason to be upset or will Bravo improve City’s squad?
I think there’s certainly cause to be upset at the way Joe Hart has seemingly been cast aside without even being given a chance to show Guardiola that he can be the passing goalkeeper he’s looking for. It seems Guardiola made up his mind very quickly, which is probably a little harsh on Hart.
That said when he took charge at Barcelona he immediately kicked Ronaldinho and Deco out the door, which upset a lot of fans at the time. A few months later they won the Champions League, and fans realised Guardiola knew what he was doing. He may be ruthless, but I believe he knows what he’s doing once again, and that Bravo will be an upgrade.
2. The reason behind the transfer is thought to be because of Bravo’s composure with the ball at his feet but how does he compare to Hart in shot-stopping ability?
In my opinion, Bravo is better than Hart when it comes to stopping shots, or at least as good as him. While a lot of the discussion about Bravo’s transfer has focussed on how well he can control and pass the ball, I think that does a disservice to the fact that he also has incredible reflexes. He’s made a number of world-class close-range and timely saves for Barcelona over the past two seasons, while he’s also good an impressive record of saving penalties.
3. Spending £17m on a 33-year-old is not seen very often, even with the mass spending in recent years. Is he worth it?
I suppose the position he plays makes his age less of a factor. While most outfield players will hit their peak in their late 20s, he is probably at his peak right now, and there’s no reason he can’t keep playing at a high level for the next five years.
4. Although it has improved under Pep Guardiola, City have been known to be shaky defensively. Will Bravo be able to prevent his teammate’s mistakes being costly like Hart did?
I think he’ll have a big impact on the defence, as they’ll probably trust him more with pass backs than they might have trusted Joe Hart. So many times at Barcelona the defence would pass back to him rather than punt it long, and he was always able to receive any pass back and recycle it efficiently. Having that kind of safety net should help City’s defenders whenever they’re being closed down.
5. Do you think that it will take Bravo long to adapt to the Premier League?
The fact he’s played over 100 matches for his country means he’s well-experienced at playing against all kinds of opponents and styles, so I don’t see there being too much of a learning curve. Although David de Gea took some time to adapt to English football when he arrived as the day’s much-heralded LaLiga goalkeeper, Bravo is much more physical and strong than De Gea was at the time, so he should have no problem coming out and battling the opposition to collect crosses.
6. City have given Bravo a four-year deal, do you think that he will be able to perform at the highest level for all that time despite being in the later years of his career?
Yes, definitely. As mentioned above, at the goalkeeping position players tend not to burn out as quickly, and Bravo is at his peak right now. Barcelona have just enjoyed a couple of his prime years, and now City will get to enjoy a few more of them.
Thanks to Euan McTear for speaking to our editor, Jack Brain.
