Vincent Kompany arrived at Manchester City with a bright future. Ever since his signing, he has been the backbone of the Manchester City defence, leading the team from the front with his spectacular performances. However, Manchester City has not been able to find a permanent centre-back, who could stick with the Belgian international. Ever since then, the Blues have spent a whopping £176.5 million till date constantly trying to find a centre-back partner for their captain.
Trending
The persuasion has been hugely tedious and unfavourable for them, and they might still face such challenges in the future.
Looking at the list of centre-backs Manchester City have signed to partner the Belgian defender. .
1) Joleon Lescott
Joleon Lescott moved to Manchester City raised many eyebrows after City paid £22 m to Everton for Lescott in 2009. Even after his decent displays and earning caps for the national team, his move always seemed like it was bound to fail. Lescott never really made his mark alongside Kompany, making just over 100 appearances in his five years for Manchester City.
The ruggedness of Joleon Lescott was no longer enough for a team looking to evolve their style and play in Europe’s top league. Lescott left City in 2014 to join West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer, eventually moving to Aston Villa who couldn’t benefit with him in the defence.
2) Jerome Boateng
The German international was one of the hottest prospects in Europe when Man City signed him from Hamburg in 2010 for a fee of £11 million, but Boateng failed to make an impact throughout the season. The defender was still taking time to adapt to the Premier League, having only played in the much slow paced Bundesliga previously.
He was no longer a favourite for manager Roberto Mancini, who soon decided to let him leave. Boateng joined German giants Bayern Munich, believing the move would bolster his chances of playing with Die Mannschaft and it certainly worked out for the defender.
3) Stefan Savic
Stefan Savic was noted as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe upon arrival to the Premier League for £6 million but instantly failed to live up to the expectations. His defensive work was often unhandy and soon began losing the faith of the club, who were hungry for imminent success.
The Montenegrin made a total of 20 appearances during his stint Man City, playing his final match in City's Community Shield victory over Chelsea. Deciding to get rid of him, Mancini sold him to Italian side Fiorentina as part of an exchange deal involving Matija Nastasic.
4) Matija Nastasic
The Serbian defender joined Manchester City for £12 million and immediately impressed in his first season at the club. He was a regular starting eleven for the Blues but plagued with injuries he was forced to be out for much of the following season.
Nastasic's excellent early form soon dipped and had to spend most of his time on the bench. Despite being part of Pellegrini’s title winning team in 2013-14, he was never a favourite for the Chilean. Nastasic did not feature at all for City before making the move to Schalke in January during the 2014-15 season.
5) Martin Demichelis
Martin Demichelis signed for Manchester City from Atletico Madrid for a reported fee of £4.2 million. He was keen to join Pellegrini, who he had played under at Malaga. The experienced Argentine had a brilliant first season, winning the Premier League and the League Cup. However, the following seasons were less fruitful for Demichelis, who lacked pace and tackling ability.
It was further impossible for Demichelis who found first-team action hard to come by due to the signings of Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala. With Pep Guardiola no longer wanting him at City, the Argentine has signed for Espanyol.
6) Eliaquim Mangala
The Frenchman signed for Manchester City in the summer of 2014 for about £40 million from Porto. Pellegrini had also made an attempt to sign the player in January that year but the deal failed to materialise.
With the price Mangala came with, fans expected that he would be the perfect rock at the back alongside Kompany, but he failed to deliver consistently well when called upon. Mangala has looked shaky along with being unable to read the game properly, and his future seems uncertain under Spaniard Guardiola, with rumours doing the rounds that he too is on his way out of the Manchester club.
7) Nicolas Otamendi
Nicolas Otamendi was wanted by Manchester United and Real Madrid but Manuel Pellegrini had the last laugh by signing him from Valencia for £32 million. The Argentine showed glimpses of his quality right from his first season but failed to fill in Kompany’s shoes when he was injured.
Despite facing competition from an error prone Mangala, Otamendi still remains the first choice. Otamendi enjoyed a decent season and even chipped in with a few goals, but needs to be more consistent if he wants to make into the playing eleven.
8) John Stones
The latest addition is defender John Stones who has signed for a fee of £47.5 million, making him the most expensive defender in the Premier League after City failed to sign Aymeric Laporte. An accurate passer, Stones is capable of starting attacks from the back which could make him a perfect fit for City. But also mentioning, Stones had a disastrous last season under Roberto Martinez, as Everton often conceded goals.
On many occasions, Stones was also shifted to the right-back position but nothing stopped the leakage of goals. This resulted in Martinez losing his job and Stones missing out on an opportunity to feature in England's terrible Euro campaign.
Stones is far from the finished product and while his signing is a big gamble from City, there is no guarantee whether he could put an end to their long-running search for a quality central defender.
