Manchester City have spent more than £140 million ($174m/€160m) on full-backs in the past three years and it’s an area that they could look at yet again when the transfer window opens.
Full-back is a position that is tactically key to Pep Guardiola’s attacking philosophy but, with the Catalan’s tactical detail, it can be demanding both physically and mentally.
Generally, full-backs are asked to play very high and wide, supporting attacks or helping to win the ball back deep in the opposition half. At other times, they are required to step inside and act as an auxiliary central midfielder or, on other occasions, drop deeper to join their central defenders to form a back-three.
The responsibility of the position means not every full-back is suited for the role and explains why Guardiola has gone through so many players in the position during his four years at the club.
Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Aleksandr Kolarov all lasted just one season before they were jettisoned in their 30s the following summer after Guardiola’s arrival. Danilo and Fabian Delph followed them out of City two years later after mixed performances in the position.
Last summer’s signing Joao Cancelo is the latest to face an uncertain future with the former Juventus defender struggling to make an impression in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.
There have been links to a potential swap deal involving Barcelona’s Nelson Semedo – a player that City were watching when he was with Benfica before he moved to Camp Nou. Sources have indicated that the Spanish giants would be open to letting the 26-year-old leave if they can find a suitable replacement, which Cancelo could be.
Cancelo had been linked with a move away from City in January with former club Valencia and Premier League rivals Tottenham believed to be interested. He has made just eight Premier League starts since his arrival although Guardiola insisted he was bought for the long term. Certainly, he wouldn’t be the first player to take a season to adapt to the coach’s methods just as Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez have done before.
‘This player we bought him for many years, not for six months, but what happens happens,’ Guardiola said in January. ‘As I said, I don’t know what will happen in a few weeks, and in the summer we will discuss.
‘If a player wants to leave, it’s simple. The agent has to call to the club, arrive at an agreement, and he will leave — and if he doesn’t get an agreement, he will stay here.’
City already have a new right-back arriving at the club in the summer after highly-rated youngster Yan Couto agreed a five-year deal. The 17-year-old, £13.6m ($17m/€15.5) signing from Coritiba starred for the Brazil team that won the FIFA Under-17s World Cup last November and there are high hopes that he could have a big future with the club, after they beat Barca to his signature. But he could head out on loan next season to further his development and acclimatise to European football.
Meanwhile, Spanish full-back Angelino is expected back at the Etihad Stadium after spending the second half of the season on loan in Germany with RB Leipzig. The Champions League quarter-finalists have an option to buy the 23-year-old for £25 million ($31m/€28.5m) and he made a good impression before the Covid-19 outbreak brought football to a halt.
There remains uncertainty over how the pandemic will affect football finances and transfer values but the academy product insists he wants to fight for his place at the Etihad. “I’m still a City player and I don’t give up on getting a place there,” he said to La Voz de Galicia in March.
Guardiola’s other options look far more secure. After two seasons severely disrupted by serious injury, Benjamin Mendy is getting back to his best form since his £57m ($71m/€65m) move from Monaco in 2017. And Oleksandr Zinchenko continues to be a success after moving to help out at full-back following Mendy’s injury setback, even if City’s defence hasn’t looked as resolute this season.
On the right hand side, Kyle Walker continues to be Guardiola’s first choice after seeing off the threat from Danilo and this season Cancelo. However, the 29-year-old is set to be disciplined by the club after breaking the UK government’s lockdown rules.
That misjudgement, for which he later apologised, could see him having more time to focus on his club football with England manager Gareth Southgate apparently left “seething” by the incident.
He was already facing tough competition for the spot from Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka and has not been called into an international squad since the Uefa Nations League tournament last summer.
None of the full-backs at City can be certain that life will carry on as normal once the football suspension is finally lifted.
