As the hectic festive period approaches, Manchester City finds itself trailing league leaders Liverpool by 14 points and in the last two seasons, the period has not been kind to City.
After defeats to Wolves, Norwich, Liverpool and most recently Manchester United this season, questions have been asked of Pep Guardiola’s recruitment, or lack of, in the summer transfer window.
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Mancity was eager to secure Harry Maguire’s signature in the summer but after refusing to pay the £80m price tag the commanding center half would sign for the red side of Manchester.
And with Vincent Kompany departing, the decision meant Man City started the new campaign with three recognized central defenders, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, and Nicolas Otamendi.
Initially, the gamble seemed to have paid off with Laporte and Stones starting the season well however disaster would soon strike, with Laporte suffering a serious knee injury in City’s 4-0 defeat of Brighton.
It would only take two weeks for the cracks to begin to show, as City visited Norwich, slumping to a shock 3-2 defeat,
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with Otamendi’s limitations being fully exposed. Since then, City has been made to regret their transfer stance and it’s time to break the mold in January to solve their defensive crisis.
The perfect candidate for such a move could be Kalidou Koulibaly - and the giant center half has been subject to interest from Europe’s top clubs over the last few transfer windows and it’s not hard to see why
The 28-year-old has consistently delivered outstanding performances for Napoli in the last few seasons and the center half has made 200 recoveries this campaign while Virgil van Dijk, widely regarded as the Premier League’s best defender, has only made 82
Kalidou Koulibaly is also a pacy central defender, which would make him unique among City’s current crop, and his dominance in the air would also be invaluable to Guardiola’s side, who have often looked susceptible to set pieces.
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A January swoop for the Senegalese could prove to be the perfect antidote for City’s defensive frailness, however,
it’s believed Napoli chiefs wouldn't sell for anything less than £90million. The price tag is the obvious stumbling block, as City have made it clear they won’t splash out and be held to ransom in an increasingly inflated modern-day market.
However, if the bosses at the Etihad want to maintain their rivalry with Liverpool at the top of the division, they may be left with no choice than to hand over the war chest to Guardiola, in January.
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