Why Manchester City should make a move for Douglas Costa in January

In a recent interview, Bayern Munich CEO Karl Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that his club are not pursuing the services of Manchester City winger Leroy Sane anymore.

Leroy Sane, 23, is set to undergo surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in Austria.

The Germany international – strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich before the Premier League’s transfer window closed – sustained the injury during the Community Shield defeat of Liverpool on August 4.

The 23-year-old jet-heeled winger is expected to be out for six to eight months, leaving Manchester City without the German for the majority of the 2019-20 campaign.

Seeing Leroy Sane damage his knee ligaments, Bayern Munich have quickly brought in the likes of Ivan Perisic and Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan and Barcelona respectively.

While it is good news for City that Bayern have dropped their interest in Sane, Pep Guardiola will be without the injured winger the majority of the 2019-20 season as he works his way back to full fitness.

The 23-year-old’s long-term injury has reduced the City manager’s options out wide, with Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva the only players fit and available now.

Back in March, the ESPN had claimed that City were interested in signing Juventus winger Douglas Costa during the summer transfer window. However, no move materialised and the Brazilian has since stayed with Juventus.

Often criticised for his inconsistency and unpredictability of the pitch, Douglas Costa, 28, can be a gem of a player on his day. He had a poor last campaign with Juventus, producing a paltry goal and two assists in 25 appearances across all competitions.

Nevertheless, Guardiola knows the speedy Brazilian’s quality having managed him at Bayern and that should prompt him into reigniting his interest in the winger and going for him in January.

Costa boasts blistering pace, which allows him to make some penetrative runs down the wide areas. Be it on the left or right, he can beat his marker with ease using his speed and trickery in the final third. The 28-year-old possesses quick feet and his build-up play is magnificent.

The ex-Bayern man can control the ball well when a defender marks him tight and bring others into play, whilst possessing the ability and awareness to lay it off for midfield runners to benefit.

Verdict

The explosive Brazilian enjoyed the best year of his career under Guardiola at Bayern, producing 18 assists for the Bundesliga champions in his debut campaign. The City manager knows Costa’s strengths and weaknesses and could well bring the best out of his abilities.

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Costa is currently 28, an age at which the attacking players like him are at their prime. Truly, he could reignite his stuttering career by reuniting with Guardiola, and hence, City should make a move for the Brazil international when the winter transfer window commences.