Man City signing this Serie A midfield master could be a shrewd move by Pep

Why Manchester City should go all out to sign Miralem Pjanic

Premier League champions Manchester City have recently shown some interest in Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic. They probably need a defensive midfielder to cover the departure of Yaya Toure.

With Fernandinho being 33 years old, manager Pep Guardiola knows he can’t play the Brazilian week in week out for more than 50 games a season. So he needs to look for options. Incidentally, this is the only position where the Cityzens are short-handed, which happens to be a key area of the pitch.

Getting Pjanic will be an ideal solution for the Spaniard. The midfielder has all sorts of qualities required to succeed in his system.

Here’s why City need to do everything to get him this summer:

Player Analysis – Miralem Pjanic

Age – 28

Main Position – Central Midfielder

Pjanic is a quality midfield player who can act both as a playmaker or a defensive shield in front of the backline. The 28-year-old is a nice blend of impressive passing and sturdy defending. He has a pass accuracy rate of 90.2%, with a key pass rate of 1.9 per game, which clearly shows he can find through balls from deeper positions as well.

The Bosnian doesn’t shy away from tackling and reads the game well to break the opposition build-up. He has a tackle and interception rate of 1.2 and 2 per game respectively. Furthermore, his shooting from long range isn’t bad either, signalling the fact that if he gets time on the ball, there is danger for the defenders.

In Guardiola’s complex but impeccably effective 4-3-3 system, Pjanic can slot in as a deep-lying playmaker and dictate the tempo of the game. He will have the support of Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva and/or Ilkay Gundogan around, which is just a treat to behold.

Maybe he would be needed to win tackles and second balls to sustain attacks, rather than playing defence-splitting passes.

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Verdict

Overall, Pjanic’s attributes and Guardiola’s system would work well together, which would only mean one thing – the player will be a perfect fit for the club.

He also has the experience and know-how of playing big games in Europe that will help some of the young talents in the City squad. Hence, the club needs to do everything to get the Bosnian this summer, before any other potential suitor takes him.

Stats Courtesy – Whoscored.com