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#6. Manchester City: Center Midfield.
The Champions have made a rampant start to their season, dropping points only once so far. They look to have added more venom to their already dangerous attacking lineup with the addition of Riyad Mahrez, while the fit-again Benjamin Mendy and his powerful runs and incredible crossing have provided City with another outlet down the wing.
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However, City failed in their pursuit to land Jorginho or Fred over the summer and this might prove to be a problem as the season progresses. At the base of midfield, they have the brilliant Fernandinho, but at 33, there is only so much running that can be expected from his ageing legs. Considering the fact that Kevin De Bruyne is also injured, an injury setback to Fernandinho could ruin Guardiola's plans as they do not have another recognized player who can deputize for Fernandinho in the same role.
Phil Foden and Fabian Delph are their other midfield options, but with Phil Foden posing more of an attacking threat and Delph not deemed good enough to directly fill in Fernandinho's boots, City should ideally be looking into the market for options rather than conducting experiments like playing John Stones in the base of midfield. In a highly competitive Premier League and combined with European aspiration, such experiments might prove costly and Guardiola would not want to toy with his fortunes with such a talented squad at hand.
Manchester City are reportedly in the market for multiple young defensive midfielders with Adrien Rabiot, Ruben Neves, Tanguy N'Dombele, Julain Weigl and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic being linked with a move to the Etihad in recent months. Julian Weigl would be a perfect fit in the Guardiola system and with his career almost stagnated at Borussia Dortmund, he would also welcome interest from a manager of Guardiola's stature and could be the ideal replacement in the long run for Fernandinho. Ruben Neves also fits the billing, but it is highly unlikely that the ambitious Nuno Espirito Santo would let his prize prodigy leave the Molineux midway through the season.
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