Fernandinho has been Manchester City’s invisible wall ever since his arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk during the summer transfer window in 2013. Since then, for the past five seasons, the Brazilian has been impeccable for the Cityzens and crucial in their paths to winning the 2013/14 and the 2017/18 Premier League titles.
An iconic master of the dark arts, the 33-year-old has been the black sheep of Guardiola’s brand of beautiful football, winning him praise from everywhere.
Replacing him, however, will be the toughest task that Guardiola will ever have to undertake, simply because there are only a few people on the planet who can do his job. Lose Fernandinho and Manchester City will lose a crucial part. It would be tough even for the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne to fill his void.
So, who can then?
According to The Mirror, City have been linked with a move for Napoli’s Allan. A Brazilian like Fernandinho, Allan started out at Vasco Da Gama before moving to Granada to Udinese before finally arriving at Napoli. However, it’s at the Stadio San Paulo that the 27-year-old made his name and where he is continuing to do so. His performances have been nothing short of incredible and this season, Allan has taken his game to another level.
The question is, however, should Pep Guardiola raid Napoli for Allan in an attempt to replace the ageing Fernandinho? The answer will be a resounding yes and that became all the more evident based on his exploits in the Champions League group stage. After all, Allan was at his very best as he played a crucial part in stopping celebrated attackers like Neymar and Mohamed Salah on different occasions.
The 27-year-old has the world at his feet at the moment and while Napoli might be unwilling sellers, Guardiola should utilize his war-chest smartly to convince them. Hopefully, they will do a better job this time around than they did while trying to convince Jorginho (h/t Manchester Evening News) to move to the Etihad Stadium!
