After their historic treble under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City is starting a new chapter.
After winning the FA Cup, Champions League, and their fifth Premier League championship in six years, City has achieved football nirvana. After years of pursuing European glory, Guardiola and City may now finally let the monkey off their back.
Right now, keeping City hungry is a challenge. That might sound easy, but just a few months ago, Guardiola believed his team had lost its will for victory.
Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva have all been the focus of rumours for various factors. Guardiola has consistently maintained that if a good offer were to come through, he would never keep a player against their will.
The departures of Leroy Sane, Ferran Torres, Raheem Sterling, and Joao Cancelo serve as proof of this. All of them—possibly with the exception of the last—left the club of their own free will, not at City’s request.
The decision to permit Cancelo to leave was a very risky one. The switch in strategy comes at a crucial time of the season because left-back has been a difficult position under Guardiola.
With four acknowledged center backs on the field as the Champions League final began, City was able to fill that position with the help of Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, and Bernardo. Of fact, it is more complicated than that, but there has been a noticeable change from the previous City.
In light of this, it’s intriguing to hear that Kyle Walker is reportedly thinking about his future. Following the World Cup, Rico Lewis’ rise made it difficult for the Englishman to maintain his position in the team.
However, the 33-year-old seemed to earn Guardiola’s trust again, regaining his job and being a crucial part of their quest for the treble. His exclusion from City’s Champions League XI may have been the only surprise.
Perhaps Guardiola believed Walker’s pure speed wasn’t as important for City as the physicality of Akanji and Ake. In either case, the Sheffield-born defender’s camp won’t have been pleased with it.
Before his career ends, Walker has often mentioned going back to his old team, Sheffield United. Any deal this summer would be very challenging to negotiate, though, given that he only has one year left on his contract and the Blades’ financial difficulties.
Instead, Walker’s most likely final destination is Bayern Munich. Walker may have a reliable buyer in Bayern, who of course got Cancelo on loan this season, if he is genuinely thinking about his future.
Guardiola must be careful not to overstretch his team because City already lacks a left-back. Lewis has unquestionable promise, but he has only recently begun to establish himself as a starter.
It would be a huge risk for City to approve the sales of Walker and Cancelo during the same window. Walker might yet have a future at the Etihad Stadium, even though there appears to be little hope for the latter.
Walker will be frustrated that he didn’t get to play more, but players who leave City rarely succeed. When compared to some of the earlier named players, Torres, Sane, and Sterling have all experienced setbacks after leaving the Etihad Stadium.
Perhaps the only players to have left Guardiola in recent years and made an impression are Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Others have not had an easy time of it.
Given that Gundogan, Bernardo, and Laporte may need to be replaced, City does not want to make too many changes too soon. Of sure, the team needs to be refreshed to keep a competitive edge, but Walker does not have to be dropped.
It could be preferable for both parties to wait out the summer and begin over. There is no assurance that Guardiola will use the same strategy the following year.
It could be necessary for City to deviate from their guiding principle and stand their ground with Walker. The right-back may also benefit the most from it.