Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola on the touchline (Getty Images)
Last season was a total failure for Manchester City if you look at their title defence and how things panned out.
In the midst of some truly great displays and individual performances, Pep Guardiola’s men were a little inconsistent. If you look at how dominant The Citizens have been, you would understand why we consider the 2019/20 campaign as a failure.
City were always going to have a hard time defending their Premier League crown with Liverpool giving them a run for their money in the 2018/19 campaign. However, no one, including punters using kingcodes, thought that Guardiola’s men would have lost the title with an 18 point deficit.
In fact, the deficit could have been more than that had the Reds been more consistent in the last few weeks of the campaign, where they lost three games and drew a couple of encounters which they normally would have easily won.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s men had done enough work during the first half of the campaign to enjoy the luxury of dropping points without feeling other teams breathing down their necks.
Champions League glory was what City really craved. Indeed, after they easily dispatched Real Madrid over the course of two professional displays, Guardiola’s men were considered one of the favorites to lift the trophy.
However, City ended up losing the quarterfinal to Olympique Lyonnais which was one of the biggest surprises of the competition. No one expected that and as a consequence, the English giants have to wait at least one more year to try and wrap their arms around a trophy that has eluded them for a number of years.
This summer, Manchester City have invested a decent amount of money on the squad.
The departure of Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich after a 12-month transfer saga meant that the team needed another winger in their ranks. In came Ferran Torres from Valencia. The young winger is expected to add pace and creativity.
Defence has been a problem for City with John Stones proving to be inconsistent and Aymeric Laporte struggling with fitness. When fit, the Frenchman is one of the best centre backs out there. However, the club has so far been unable to properly replace Vincent Kompany.
Reports claim that Manchester City are in pole position to acquire the services of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The Senegalese behemoth is definitely going to be a great signing and would even compliment with fellow new signings, Nathan Ake.
Bringing in a new defender becomes even more essential given the fact that Eric Garcia has refused a contract extension at The Etihad, with the Spaniard linked with a return to Barcelona.
City are also working on a deal to reunite Lionel Messi with Pep Guardiola.
But hey, you know how the football world has been turned upside down since the now famous (or infamous perhaps?) Messi Burofax affair. The Argentine is looking to jump ship and has reportedly already held conversations with Guardiola over a potential reunion.
City are in a position to meet the player’s wage demands and Messi is also keen on playing under Guardiola.
If this move ends up happening for real, well let’s just say that Manchester City would be crowned champions of this summer’s transfer window.
City would definitely be looking to forget their meek title defence last season and their manager would be eager to ensure that Liverpool do not get an easier run this time around.
And with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United strengthening their squads, the onus will be on Pep Guardiola to bring out the best from a squad that has the ability to fight on multiple fronts next season.
