After the Club World Cup triumph earlier this week, Manchester City are officially the best club in the world. Along with that can be added the best squad in the world. It takes more than 11 players to battle through most matches. And it certainly takes way more than 11 throughout the season given the increased number of fixtures these days. One thing that stands out this season is that Manchester City seems to have a small squad this time around, compared to previous campaigns.
The Manchester City squad this season looks thin
One of the questions for Manchester City this season has been whether the squad is too thin; not necessarily in terms of number of players, but in terms of players that Pep can trust. The starting XI for the Club World Cup final proves just that.
A glance at the XI revealed that none of the players City signed this summer were there. A second glance showed that none of the players City signed last summer were there either. Maybe Erling Haaland might’ve been in the XI if he were fit. The same case could be made for Jeremy Doku who has won the trust of the manager since joining this summer.
Pep Guardiola has failed to find replacements for key players
No one in the Manchester City squad has been able to replace Rodri. However, to be fair, I don’t think anyone on Earth can replace him. The difference is evident when Rodri isn’t playing.
The same can be said for Kevin de Bruyne as well. Although Julian Alvarez has been impressive in KDB’s role, just like Rodri, no one on Earth can do what KDB does. Pep wasn’t able to replace John Stones either while he was injured. The departed club captain, Ilkay Gundogan has also been hard to replace.
With so many players in the squad being irreplaceable, questions have to be asked about the recruitment of Manchester City.
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