Pep Guardiola bid farewell to a number of mainstays, including rookie Cole Palmer and veterans Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, and Aymeric Laporte, who were all off to new pastures.
In order to replace them, Manchester City had to make an effort to restock their roster and signed Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, and Matheus Nunes.
However, which one was the season’s best signing? The writers of Manchester City News concur wholeheartedly.
Josko Gvardiol – Srinivas Sadhanand
The talk surrounding Josko Gvardiol’s debut season at Manchester City will be dominated by his incredible performances during the title run-in.
Nonetheless, Gvardiol seems to have adapted to the club in a manner that even John Stones, a club icon, could not from the start.
With the exception of a few mistakes brought on by assuming a challenging hybrid role that was unfamiliar to him, the Croatian has demonstrated that he is both a technical marvel and an old-school defender.
Since the day he donned sky blue, Gvardiol has been adept at timing his challenges and using his quick feet to dance past opposing defenders.
Gvardiol may be the most gifted young player the club has ever signed, since time will only allow him to improve.
The 22-year-old’s lack of experience playing in his native position is his scariest potential.
Josko Gvardiol – James Thompson
It’s amazing that a 21-year-old center back would sign a lucrative contract with City and then spend the most of the season playing left back for a squad that doesn’t use full backs like other teams.
Josko Gvardiol’s performances—especially in the latter part of the season—justified City’s £77 million signing fee.
The Croatian did all of his defensive work effectively and always appeared composed when the ball was in play, despite spending a lot of time farther up the field.
Josko Gvardiol – Tom Proctor
Gvardiol took a little while to get used to life at City, which was to be expected given that he was a young player with a hefty price tag entering a new league.
Pep put him in at left-back, where he had to pick up the skills fast. Following a period of difficulty, Gvardiol reached a whole new level in the last few months of the season and concluded it as one of the most productive City players.
With our authors’ choices for Goal of the Season, Breakout Star of the Season, Win of the Season, and Unsung Hero of the Season now published, you can go back and read the remaining Manchester City News awards.
