MANCHESTER CITY are in dire need of a fresh start.
While finishing third in the Premier League is not a total disaster, the way their title defence collapsed sent a signal that the force that had dominated English for half a decade was no longer infallible.
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We can, of course, point to the long-term injury to the winner as one of the driving points behind their struggles, but even then, you would expect ‘s side to have the depth to deal with his loss more effectively.
In the end, rather than a tactical change, City splashed more than £170million on new signings , Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Victor Reis to get their season back on track.
However, out of these four, only Marmoush has had a significant impact thus far. Gonzalez was relegated to a reserve team spot early on, Khusanov had a shaky start, and Reis has played just one league minute since his arrival.
Losing talisman is doubtless a loss for the squad after the club allowed his contract to run down, but City requires fresh blood if they are to close the gap to champions .
And they have moved swiftly by adding three new players in , Rayan Ait-Nouri and , while a fourth signing in is expected to fill the role of third-choice goalkeeper and squad cheerleader.
Below, we look in depth at the three new signings and show how they will have an impact on this City squad going into next season and going into the .
Rayan Ait-Nouri, 24-years-old, Left-Back
The first player we will discuss is 24-year-old Algerian international, Rayan Ait-Nouri, signed in a £31m deal from Wolves.
The signing of Ait-Nouri ticks two big boxes for Guardiola and his staff.
First of all, he has extensive Premier League experience with 135 appearances in the competition since joining Wolves from Angers in in 2021.
The second important tick is he fills a position of a real specialist at left-back, rather than a player being shoehorned in like , or have been previously.
Ait-Nouri should come in immediately and make that position his own.
Ait-Nouri was one of the standout players for Wolves last season in the context of a team that were struggling towards the bottom of the table for most of the season.
He is a balanced defender who will provide real quality for City in all phases of the game.
When defending he is comfortable defending when he is isolated wide and he generates turnovers with tackles, blocks or interceptions, as well as being able to come inside to help his central defenders.
He is also very capable of contributing a lot in the attacking phase, creating threat for his team by staying wide and stretching the width of the pitch.
In the middle third, when he takes the ball, he finds creative passing angles to find the striker on the last line or to break the last line with through balls that can release runners behind the defensive line.
And in the final third he gets on the ball and can cross with quality from deep or when bursting towards the by-line.
City appear to have moved very quickly in order to secure the signature of their first choice left-back for the foreseeable future.
Tijjani Reijnders, 26-years-old, Central Midfielder
From an age perspective, it is interesting City have moved against the general trend by signing a player that is already 26 years old in Reijnders, signed from for £46m.
The Dutch international has 23 caps and four goals at senior international level and last season he ended with 10 goals and five assists in the alone.
Is Reijnders seen as the replacement for De Bruyne in the City midfield? Well, maybe at least partly. The two are similar in that they are at their best in the attacking phase of the game.
Reijnders is a ball carrier who can take possession in tight spaces and help to break down a deep block by dribbling or finding creative passing angles.
This was an area of the game where City struggled last season with teams sitting deep and City trying to attack in the wide areas to break them down with little quality in the middle.
While Reijnders does contribute defensively, he is especially strong when pressing and counterpressing when his team lose possession in higher areas.
He can play deeper, almost beside the 6, and receive and play the ball to dictate the tempo of the attack for his team but he is also very impressive in more advanced positions when the game is really tight.
His ability to take the ball and beat a man 1v1 centrally can really open up games for his team by creating space for others, but he also uses this in the final third to create an angle for shots around the edge of the area.
Reijnders can play more as a box-crashing midfielder but also poses a threat with his ability to shoot from distance.
In this instance, he does have some similarities to De Bruyne, and he will provide a goal threat from the midfield City would otherwise be missing.
With De Bruyne having left the club and with , and all entering the end of their peak years, it was important City strengthened the position.
And Reijnders should go a long way to helping them break down opposition defensive blocks.
Rayan Cherki, 21-years-old, Attacking Midfielder
City have already pulled off one of the most intriguing transfers of the summer with the £35m deal to sign 21-year-old Rayan Cherki from in France.
Cherki has long been discussed as one of the most naturally gifted and technically talented players of his generation.
The Frenchman, however, was seen as a player who was difficult to deal with and who had a very close connection to his home city in Lyon.
But last season Cherki matured as a player as he had a more central role for his team which really saw him emerge as one of the best young players in .
He has now made his full international debut for France and he looks set to become a key attacking player for the national team.
His decision to leave Lyon triggered interest from top teams in England, but it was City who moved quickest to secure his signature.
There are two big questions around the signing of Cherki by City. The first is whether Guardiola will allow Cherki to retain his unique creativity and dribbling style.
When arrived at City for a club-record £100m from he was a strong ball carrier.
But that dynamic ability to take on his man has been coached out of his game, and is part of the reason he is now deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad after being left out of their Club World Cup squad.
That said, Guardiola has been happy for to be a high-volume dribbler during his time at City, so maybe the Spanish coach will allow Cherki to be the same.
The second question regards his position. Cherki does not have the defensive profile or work rate to play in deeper midfield areas, so he will probably not fit as one of the two 8’s in the midfield for City.
That could mean he plays from the right of attack, and with Doku on the left, we could see City build an attack with incredible threat from either flank.
Cherki can score goals for himself but is extremely creative and capable of playing through tight defensive blocks with his ability to dribble and play quick passes in and out to teammates to break through and create space that can be exploited.
In signing Cherki, it is fair to say that Man City may have signed a true gamebreaker for next season.
The Club World Cup and Conclusion
City named all seven of the signings they made in the past six months – coming out to a total of almost £300m – in the 27-man travelling squad for in the .
It will give Guardiola a chance to see all three of his new toys on the pitch in his system of play.
City’s underperformance last season triggered a decisive response from City chiefs, with some key recruitment needs already being met with even more business likely when the open reopens on June 16.
All three new signings have the ability to make an immediate and important impact on the squad, but living up to some of their predecessors will be a huge ask.
