How Manchester City’s Attack Would Line Up With Bernardo Silva In The Side
Manchester City’s summer is off to a blistering start. After a disappointing first season in England, manager Pep Guardiola is not messing about and has gone about setting things right as soon as the season ended.
Last week, they announced the signing of Bernardo Silva from French champions AS Monaco for a fee reported to be in the range of £43million, and are reportedly close to sealing the signature of Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson Moraes from Portuguese champions SL Benfica for a world-record fee (for goalkeepers) of £34.9million. Surely, that is some statement of intent from the Sky Blues, poaching two of the best players from two teams who were champions last season.
With so much attacking talent at their disposal, how will Manchester City’s attack look next season with Silva’s addition? Let’s take a look.
Guardiola is likely to stick with the 4-1-4-1 formation that has worked well for him this season with either Fernandinho or Yaya Toure operating in front of the back four. And here’s how the attacking half of the team would look like.
Bernardo Silva (RW)
The 22-year old is coming off of a stellar campaign with Monaco, playing a huge hand in their Ligue1 triumph and their run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. When the club has paid so much to sign him, they will expect him to have a similar impact at the Etihad and he will slot in on the right flank, pushing Raheem Sterling out to the bench.
Kevin De Bruyne (CAM)
The Belgian international was City’s best player of the season and finished as the chart topper for the number of assists in the Premier League last season and also chipped in with quite a few number of goals himself. He is vital to the way City operate and is indispensable to the team.
David Silva (CAM)
The midfield conductor for the Citizens, David Silva pulls the strings in the attack, with his silky touch, his excellent vision and his extremely intelligent movement both on and off the ball. He may be 31 now, but still remains one of the best playmakers around and will have a huge role to play in the upcoming season for Guardiola and City.
Leroy Sane (LW)
Last summer’s big signing started off slowly, but grew in stature over the second half of the season and started showing why City paid the big bucks for him. Sane was one of the biggest threats for City in the attacking third, with his express pace and ability to dribble the ball at speed. He will keep getting better and better and is a sure starter next campaign.
Sergio Aguero (ST)
There were a lot of speculations over Aguero’s future after Guardiola dropped him in favour of the young Gabriel Jesus towards the business end of the season. But the club has cleared the air, stating that the Argentine will be staying put and if that is the case, he would be the No.1 striker, despite Jesus’ impressive start to life in England.