5 Premier League teams and the positions they need to fix

#5 Manchester City (Central Midfielder)

Fernandinho will need to be managed carefully next season

Despite the injury that saw him miss out on the last games of the season, it was another stellar campaign for the 34-year-old Brazilian international. He was near faultless this past season as his tackling, intelligent shielding of the ball and passing were critical to the Sky Blues' title win.

While a lot has been made in the press about his consistent use of tactical fouling to stop opponents from threatening the defence, that takes away from the excellence of Fernandinho who has been the standout defensive midfielder in English football since Guardiola arrived in 2017.

Surely, he cannot be expected to play that many games again next season. Ilkay Gundogan deputized superbly but the donkey work is not something he excels at.

The Manchester City hierarchy will need to add a younger, fitter version who could do the donkey work of a defensive midfielder while being able to recycle possession and start attacks as Guardiola demands of his midfielders.

Douglas Luiz has been decent on loan at Girona in the Spanish La Liga. He could be an in-house option to complement his senior Brazilian colleague. Rodri (Atletico Madrid) and Tanguy Ndombele (Olympique Lyonnais) are two of the outside names that have been mentioned.