Guardiola Eyes Zubimendi to Solve Man City's Midfield Problems Possibly Talking about Squad Reshuffle
Pep Guardiola, coach of Manchester City, is keen on Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi to solve the club’s problem about their recent slump during the transfer window of January. The current Premier League champions have been going through hard times with Rodri, their main midfielder out, and it is said that they will be undergoing some major renaming.
Concerns Arising from City’s Stuttering Form
The latest dip notwithstanding, City’s first foray into the 2023/24 Premier League campaign saw them win seven of their first nine matches, but they have thus far been unimpressive in the league. Amidst four consecutive league losses, the club has thrown in a total of eight winless games out of nine, making the top four possible in the standings by placing them alongside a city rival at fourth with an outstanding eight points less than current leaders Liverpool.
While City performed commanding feats during midweek, defeating Nottingham Forest by the score of three goals to zero, their 2-2 tie with Crystal Palace over the weekend served to underscore moving vulnerabilities. Presently, while one point behind Chelsea and Arsenal, this is also a title race but pressure mounts with the need for coherence in performance owing to an outstanding game.
Rodri’s absence is a huge blow
The long-term injury to Rodri followed a dip in City form; the midfielder suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during a match with Arsenal on September 22. The Spain international announced that he had won the Ballon d’Or for October and was set for the rest of the season. In City s midfield, there is a visible gap as Guardiola admitted the difficulty of covering his absence.
Emergence of Zubimendi as a Target
As per reports from Spanish sources, Pep Guardiola is looking at Zubimendi as the answer to the midfield issues in his side. To top all this, Real Sociedad’s midfielder had been remarked as one of the shining stars in La Liga and obviously, his technical faculties and composure on the ball would have fallen into Guardiola’s hands for consideration. Reports say City would plan to move by January next year, but such intentions fall short with Real Sociedad as sources say the latter are unwilling to agree upon negotiations but assured full payment of the player’s release clause.
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De Bruyne’s Future in Question
In addition to going after Zubimendi, Guardiola is believed to be contemplating a large-scale overhaul of his squad, with speculations surrounding the future of Kevin De Bruyne. Although the Belgian international scored in City’s recent victory over Nottingham Forest, reports state that the relationship between De Bruyne and Guardiola has deteriorated. According to reports, the Catalan coach is inflexible in his tactical philosophy and willing to sacrifice personal names to build a squad.
This has led to the speculation that De Bruyne may be ushered out of the door next summer as part of Guardiola’s plans to reform the team.
Plans for the Future of the City
January will see a very crucial transfer period for Pep Guardiola as Manchester City would need to either add new players to their contingent or bring the squad up to par so they can compete consistently for the rest of the season. The focus is on Zubimendi and maybe a few changes to the bet-to-centre core in the urgency and ambition that all of this sends out from Guardiola’s work to try to steer City back toward winning ways.
And for more information about Manchester City, such as regarding Guardiola’s plans and player developments, keep reading at Football365.
