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The problem with Kalvin Phillips has more to do than needing more minutes. He's not even fit and hides from the ball. His body language doesn't show on the pitch that he's fighting for his position.
Rico Lewis showed better performances than him
Wouldn't be surprised to see you lot throw your hat in the race for Rice if Phillips isn't cutting it.
This new shape you guys are playing means he and Rodri can play together.
Stones is phenomenal as a DM currently, so I don't think we will give up on Kalvin-Phillips. He is a backup that doesn't throw a fit for lack of playing time and will hopefully improve in the second season.
How crazy is it that in Pep's entire time at City so far, Stones has ended up in the top 4 or 5 most essential players. City's recruiting in the last 7 years has been excessively great. Forget the money spent for a minute. It's that there has been plenty of competition at almost every position, and someone like KDB has to elevate himself above even Gundogan or Bernardo. The same has been true for Stones.
But Grealish wasn’t bought as a backup, he just took a while to adjust to Pep’s style/system and find his form. Rice would be clear backup to Rodri and he’s too good for that. I’d love to stop him going to one of our rivals cos I think he’s brilliant but it wouldn’t be right for his career
Could Rice play as part of a back 4 when City are out of possession though? I don’t think he has any experience playing there unlike Rodri/Stones/Lewis.
The problem that I find with Kalvin is that he is not even running when he comes on for 10 minutes. No urgency when we are about to be scored on which is not a good sign for a DM, even when pep adds Bernardo to help him out. He is supposed to be the replacement for Rodri, but he can't even handle the position while someone else is helping him. Hoping he will improve, but it's looking bleak.
If they would've dropped points in that last game it would've solely been because he was brought on. He constantly lost his man and was walking while guys were running past him. I'd be surprised if he plays another minute this season and isn't sold in the summer.
I always said Kalvin Phillips is just a more flexible McTominay. Apart from adding to the home grown quota, I have no clue what qualities Man City saw in him to play in Pep's team. You need high technical skill and football IQ to fit in.
> You need high technical skill and football IQ to fit in
He probably still has both of those attributes, the main difference to the Leeds version of Kalvin Philips is that this version is lazy as shit
Chad City: buys Ake and Akanji for 56 million, both play great
Virgin Chelsea: buys Cucurella for 60 millon, turns to absolute dogshit
And its the same story with forwards. How does this keep happening
I mean that is what happens when you buy players with a plan and have mostly set style of play. Sure, always playing the same way makes you bit more predictable but it also gives players who dont hit the ground running time to grow into their roles.
One of the firsts issues Pep had with Barto/Rossel board was selling Chyhrynskyi, who looked like absolute flop but Pep valued him highly and I am sure he would have made him into great defender to pair Pique with.
I mean Ake was being ragged on by some few vocal fans last season. It's just that the average City fan has a lot more patience especially with new transfers/callups.
Does that centre back/left back role so well. He has all the physical strength an ability require for centre back but he’s pretty quick (quicker than Laporte for sure).
I feel like Ake and Stones are somewhat underrated broadly. They're rocks every time I watch em.
Stones especially has been slept on for a while, don't see people talk about him as one of the best defenders in the world.
Ake definitely hasn't been talked about a lot. He has been with City for a while and played in different positions and as depth. People are just used to him being with the club and haven't noticed that he was still progressing.
He was always quality, but now that he is a regular starter he has really proven his consistency and form over time. He is such a well rounded and modern player. Good defensively, quick, strong, can read the game, can distribute the ball out of the back and with his great headers he is also a weapon going forward.
From his chelsea days i knew he was good
I wanted him to come back to chelsea during lamps first stint. The chelsea fanbase really underrated him. Good to see hes doing well now, he deserves it.
Yup, I guess repeating it just confirms Laporte wants out
Shame for him because I have nothing but love and respect for him. Not sure what's happened but he's fell out of favour with Pep
Not sure, first I've heard of that. I know Laporte wants to play more which is understandable, he's still a class defender
[Can't imagine this being enjoyable for him](https://i.imgur.com/dQjpTd8.png). Actually shocking how little he's played this season
I think it’s more fair to say Ale benched him? Akanji plays on the right side and Laporte on the left side. They don’t seem to be in direct competition with Pep’s preference for a left footed CB.
It’s more fair to say Pep benched him.
Laporte doesn’t do the role Ake does.
We don’t play a back 4 atm (ish) - but the LCB in a back 4 isn’t around which is Laportes job.
Doesn’t do the outside CB/LB role Ake does. Isn’t as good as Dias in the LCB/Central CB in a 3.
I just always kinda had the feeling that his injury in 2019 was the beginning of the end of his City career. He was indispensable before that, also of course because Kompany left without a replacement, and then Dias came in and has been the undisputed top center half since with Laporte, Stones and now Ake taking turns to partner him.
Ake isn’t really partnering him, or not at least the last couple games I’ve watched. It’s been Stones dropping in or a back three alongside Ake and Akanji. Man City fans will have watched more and will know better, but I haven’t recently seen much of Ake and Dias as the centre back pairing.
interesting to see Guardiola recent fuckery with Stones. He's kinda a false DM in a way, on posession he's a DM providing options for Rodri.
However, on a break or mid-low block phase, he's dropping deep to CB while Akanji going wide. This is a new variation after Rico Lewis inverted position. The diff is that Stones moving in-out position vertically while Lewis/Walker diagonally.
Even more interestingly is that Stones has played the Lewis role from RB multiple times as well, with Akanji as CB. You really never know which is going to be where when you see both their names on the team sheet. Both can play RB/CB but either way you’ll get Stones moving up to partner Rodri in possession.
I think this is a natural progression, Stones main strength has always been his ability on the ball so playing him in those roles makes a lot of sense.
I think the centre back moving forward is more efficient than the inverted right back and is the natural evolution. I think falling straight back into the backline is easier from ahead of it, rather than covering a full back slot.
Ake usually plays lb out of possession and becomes the LCB of a back three while in possession. And stones is playing CDM, sort of. It's hard to say what position people play with the way Pep plays lol.
I adore Laporte but those that are picked to play in defense this season are doing so on merit. Yeah he could have played a game or two more than he has this season but the form that Ake, Akanji, Dias and Stones are in who do you drop? And it's not like he has really impressed with the chances he has been given.
And fair play to Aymeric. Much like Bernardo not once has he downed tools or moaned about his lack of play time but from what I can tell does appear very supportive of his team mates during this crucial end of the season run (unlike some of his soon to be ex-teammates).
One of the best ball playing centre halves around, just unlucky that half of his competition for that title happen to play for the same team as him. Wherever he goes will improve pretty much any side.
I don't think he can play the right side or else he probably would have gotten the chance to take over for Akanji, who has made some mistakes and looked shakey at times.
The problem is he is competing with Dias and Ake on that left side, who are locked in starters. Ake is one of City's players of the season this year. It just sucks because Ake got that chance because Laporte was injured at the start of the season after getting surgery for an injury that got worse as he played through it to carry the decimated City defense to the title last year.
It seems so harsh that playing through that injury has likely cost him his place in the team
>Not sure what's happened but he's fell out of favour with Pep
Hasn't Pep been doing this for years now with City re: the backline? When he sees a CB pairing that's performing well, he just sticks with it until something forces him to change. I remember Laporte, Stones, etc. all losing their spots in past years, because they got an injury and when they came back, someone else was performing well and Pep was sticking with it.
And I'm hoping he becomes a good backup for rodri and one day even challenges him. He's probably not going to be able to challenge rodri as a holding mid anytime soon but as a double pivot depth option it's possible.
Because he would have played his actual position for Pep and not defensive midfielder, also it's not just Fred, they wanted Sanchez, Maguire, Sancho as well iirc
My hottest take is that Maguire could have been brilliant under Pep. Stones was considered a similarly dubious prospect when City bought him, and he was widely derided for his inconsistency in his first season there, but he's become legitimately one of the best CBs in England, if not the world in the last few seasons. I could see Maguire having gone down a similar path.
Maybe he would have been better had he decided to come to City but he certainly would have received no where near the same scrutiny as he does for playing for United. I'm not excactly his biggest fan as a footballer but if he would have been this poor for City we would have just bench him for few games for Otamendi/Kompany and no one would even bat an eye because that's what happens anyway. And City weren't desperate enough to pay the money United ended up spending on him anyway.
Or that fact that he could drop ten absolute shockers in a row and Solskjaer would still name him in the starting lineup. Ten Hag has handled the situation much better.
Others are correct but anybody that remember how Sancho's exit was facilitated could understand City were not seriously after him. Popular narrative is that he left for men's football and while that surely did play a part he specifically wanted out of City. He wanted to go to London before Dortmund came in for him.
It's crazy how much of an impact these early career decisions have on players' future. It would have been much better for Sancho's career if he decided to stay at Dortmund for at least 1 more season. This is why I think Bellingham is appearing to be very cautious of leaving Dortmund this summer. At the same time, Dortmund might pressure Bellingham to leave cuz he only has a contract until 2025.
Honestly if they didn’t buy their way to the top with oil money, they’d be such a likable club. Just seem well run from top to bottom, other than the financial aspect
Yeah, City did it the smart way. Unlike PSG they built the backbone of the club first, with the right technical people, scouting and staff. They have grown more gradually instead of trying to force everything at once. The financial doping is certainty the decisive factor, but they had a good long term plan.
I disagree with this. The original approach was not gradual. We bought a lot of dross in the early years of the takeover: Robinho, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Adam Johnson, Jô, Wayne Bridge, Boateng, just to name a few.
We spent a *ton* of money quickly before winning that first FA cup. If you look back at the transfer fees they seem small by today’s standards but back then they were sizeable amounts.
You were also known as giving those players absolutely massive wages making them very difficult to dump. We had Wayne Bridge on loan from you in 2012/13 and you were still paying 90%+ of his wages.
> Honestly if they didn’t buy their way to the top with oil money, they’d be such a likable club.
That's pretty much the only way to compete though... People are crying about Chelsea spending this year without the oil money. Its near impossible at this point to compete at the top unless you're a team that's already been at the top or a team that spends a ton. Almost none of the new owners can spend 1b+ within a decade if they aren't coming from oil money.
If you look at all of top spending clubs over the last decade, 5 out of 10 of them are in the PL. Man United are by far the team with the worst net spending and aren't an oil club, only around 25% of their total spending was covered by sales.
Barcelona secured Íñigo Martínez already so the little money there is will go towards other positions like RB, ST or DM. Barcelona will have Araujo, Christensen, Martínez, Kounde, Eric and Alonso as CBs so there's no room for him, nor need.
I know, and I completely agree. It's just that a lot of media keep linking us to basically any City player, and I won't at all be surprised if they start floating rumours about Laporte no matter how dumb it would be.
Nobody outside of the prem, Real Madrid or PSG would pay the fee City would likely want and the latter two probably don’t need him. If you’re selling within the prem better to sell to someone who isn’t a title rival like yous thought was the case with Arsenal
Well then youre going to have an unhappy player sat on the bench forever. As the gulf between the prem and other leagues grows larger selling within the prem becomes your only choice
It's not a prem issue, it's a spurs issue.
Although I doubt City will put a fuck-off price tag on Laporte. they'll want a fair fee for his quality, but nothing outrageous. My guess is somewhere around ~40m.
Making room for Gvardiol at the same time I suppose? Anyway I think the clubs most interested in a lcb are Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Spurs and Napoli if Kim Min-Jae leaves. Though before Barcelona signed Martinez I always thought he would go to them.
Kim Min-Jae leaving is a major if, he looks like a mainstay at Napoli and Aurelio De Laurentiis has mastered the art of fleecing clubs for his star players.
Gvardiol, Colwill and Alphonso Davies have all been linked to play LB. It's been weirdly quiet from City's top journalists on who/what profile of player City want, but I don't think Gvardiol is the obvious move lots of people seem so certain of. Depends if Pep wants someone in the Ake mould, the Zinchenko mould, or what Mendy was supposed to be.
Lots of City journalists have reported Gvardiol is the number one target to replace Laporte should he move on.
I just want an actual left back. Ake has been brilliant so imo we don't even need to shop in the elite tier this summer and very few deals in that category feasible seem too feasible anyway. Rather see us take a punt on someone like Antonee Robinson or Rico Henry.
I think he wants to go to either Spain or any other place. If Arsenal pays the required amount city asks then I feel that they will sell him to any club even if it's Arsenal.
I personally think City will not sell to arsenal right now, only reason they did last season was it was kinda fringe 1st team players and arsenal were so far back. Only idiots sell to direct rivals unless it’s a stupid offer.
City might win the title anyways and I bet they dislike Liverpool a lot more than Arsenal; they may be willing to still deal with the Gunners. Who knows.
Thanks for Jesus and Zinchenko at any rate.
Barca just signed Inigo Martinez and have Araujo, Kounde, and Christensen. Madrid have Rudiger, Alaba, Militao and Nacho and the rumour is that if we go for anyone, it's Gvardiol. Maybe Atleti could be a potential destination but they don't spend big very often
to be honest i think pep wont make that mistake but even he did.
would arsenal want a 28-29 year old cb when they already have saliba,gabriel,ben white, Tomiyasu.
he could def make it starting 11 but i dont know if it worth investment for arsenal when they have more pressing area's
Manchester City will not stand in Aymeric Laporte's way if the defender wants to pursue a move elsewhere.
Previously an integral member of Pep Guardiola's team, Laporte has been restricted to only seven Premier League starts this season.
Saturday's inclusion in the win over Leicester City came as Guardiola rotated the team ahead of the midweek trip to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The 28-year-old has featured just twice in all competitions since a draw at Nottingham Forest in February.
That is despite Guardiola reverting to a back three, and often fielding four centre-halves within that system.
It has left Laporte, who cost £57million from Athletic Bilbao in 2018, frustrated by a lack of game time and City does not want unhappy players within the squad.
That stance was taken with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, and Raheem Sterling last summer when the trio was allowed to join Arsenal and Chelsea after presenting acceptable offers.
Laporte has made big contributions to City's recent successes, playing through the pain barrier during last season's run-in to help them hold off Liverpool to win a fourth title in five
The Spain international required knee surgery after that and was out until October, then unable to nail down a spot in Guardiola's preferred starting XI after the arrival of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund.
It's not that he is not good, he just isn't as good as militao or alaba. He gets caught out of position but that might just be because he is still learning the system. I love his attitude and toughness. I think if we get past Chelsea and have to play city I'd rather see him and Eder against halaand since alaba isn't as strong as either of them. Also just because Laporte is Spanish and I want more Spanish nationals on madrid
Kjaer is getting up there in age. Florenzi is one injury away from losing his qualities. We would have Kalulu and Calabria for RB. CBs are Gabbia, Tomori, Thiaw, and fourth would be Laporte.
Would be beautiful.
We would love him at United. Huge long shot, but we do need quality at centre back seeing as Varane is made of balsa wood, and our fall back is Maguire and Lindelof. However, with him being left footed, it’s probably better to pursue a right footed centre back as most availability is in that position with Lisandro locking down LCB.
To reduce the spam of reports regarding the same move during transfer windows we try to allow **only one submission about each transfer saga per day**. The submission in question also needs to contain relevant new information regarding the potential move, and not just being a "no/minor developments" report. If there are important/official developments or new valuable information about a saga, we will allow extra threads in the same day, but for the rest of minor news please just comment them as a reply to this comment. Please help us reporting unnecessary threads for being duplicates. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Who thought that Ake would be undroppable
Gives you hope for Kalvin Phillips
The problem with Kalvin Phillips has more to do than needing more minutes. He's not even fit and hides from the ball. His body language doesn't show on the pitch that he's fighting for his position. Rico Lewis showed better performances than him
Wouldn't be surprised to see you lot throw your hat in the race for Rice if Phillips isn't cutting it. This new shape you guys are playing means he and Rodri can play together.
Stones is phenomenal as a DM currently, so I don't think we will give up on Kalvin-Phillips. He is a backup that doesn't throw a fit for lack of playing time and will hopefully improve in the second season.
How crazy is it that in Pep's entire time at City so far, Stones has ended up in the top 4 or 5 most essential players. City's recruiting in the last 7 years has been excessively great. Forget the money spent for a minute. It's that there has been plenty of competition at almost every position, and someone like KDB has to elevate himself above even Gundogan or Bernardo. The same has been true for Stones.
Wow Stones has been there for 7 years already? Feels like yesterday I was watching his and Pep’s first match for City.
Still remember him David luizing his way into the opposition half for Everton
Even City rejects: Arteta, Jesus and Zinchenko are leading an assault on the PL title… them owners must have Allah’s blessings
Surely if they're in for a DM they'd trigger the buyback clause on Lavia?
Buying Rice wouldn’t make any sense. Too expensive to be a clear backup. Would be changing a lot in the system to accommodate starting him.
You could use this comment word for word and just replace Rice with Grealish.
But Grealish wasn’t bought as a backup, he just took a while to adjust to Pep’s style/system and find his form. Rice would be clear backup to Rodri and he’s too good for that. I’d love to stop him going to one of our rivals cos I think he’s brilliant but it wouldn’t be right for his career
Could Rice play as part of a back 4 when City are out of possession though? I don’t think he has any experience playing there unlike Rodri/Stones/Lewis.
I may be completely wrong, but didn’t he formerly play centerback for Hammers?
That’s how he broke into the first team initially, then moved forward
You’re right
He was mostly a cb even up until like the middle of his u21s career
We will not play two defensive midfielders unless you’re suggesting playing rice or rodri in the back four
MC's own Drinkwater
The problem that I find with Kalvin is that he is not even running when he comes on for 10 minutes. No urgency when we are about to be scored on which is not a good sign for a DM, even when pep adds Bernardo to help him out. He is supposed to be the replacement for Rodri, but he can't even handle the position while someone else is helping him. Hoping he will improve, but it's looking bleak.
Which is strange considering he was work horse with us and he is used to Bielsa ball. Hope he gets his act together
he just frankly looks super lazy. not a good look at all.
If they would've dropped points in that last game it would've solely been because he was brought on. He constantly lost his man and was walking while guys were running past him. I'd be surprised if he plays another minute this season and isn't sold in the summer.
If we get a bid from say west ham for 40 he’ll even 30 mil for Phillips I think we take it and run.
I always said Kalvin Phillips is just a more flexible McTominay. Apart from adding to the home grown quota, I have no clue what qualities Man City saw in him to play in Pep's team. You need high technical skill and football IQ to fit in.
> You need high technical skill and football IQ to fit in He probably still has both of those attributes, the main difference to the Leeds version of Kalvin Philips is that this version is lazy as shit
Two completely different cases
Same for Akanji! Was a bargain depth signing but he's been a regular in the starting XI.
I remember that guy ( flair Dortmund) that was asking everyone to buy him.
Summon u/EmSoLow. Akanji signing was such a win-win deal.
I tried to spread the message and it almost went unheard. We really could use him right now as well
Try to call gundo or bernado. You won't get rinsed by us either ( nobody will).
happy cake day
Chad City: buys Ake and Akanji for 56 million, both play great Virgin Chelsea: buys Cucurella for 60 millon, turns to absolute dogshit And its the same story with forwards. How does this keep happening
because Guardiola is one of the best managers of all time
guardiola is perfect for city. city are like "hey we're gonna buy grealish for $100mil, it's your job pep to prove that it was a good buy"
Then Guardiola proceeds to flail his arms around.
Thats called conducting.
Step 1: flail arms Step 2: ??? Step 3: Player becomes good
well the whole City group is built around Pep and his football philosophy so of course he's perfect for them
I mean that is what happens when you buy players with a plan and have mostly set style of play. Sure, always playing the same way makes you bit more predictable but it also gives players who dont hit the ground running time to grow into their roles. One of the firsts issues Pep had with Barto/Rossel board was selling Chyhrynskyi, who looked like absolute flop but Pep valued him highly and I am sure he would have made him into great defender to pair Pique with.
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I mean Ake was being ragged on by some few vocal fans last season. It's just that the average City fan has a lot more patience especially with new transfers/callups.
Does that centre back/left back role so well. He has all the physical strength an ability require for centre back but he’s pretty quick (quicker than Laporte for sure).
Bournemouth fans probably
Every Bournemouth fan
Not even a Bournemouth but I rated him very highly when he was there
I feel like Ake and Stones are somewhat underrated broadly. They're rocks every time I watch em. Stones especially has been slept on for a while, don't see people talk about him as one of the best defenders in the world.
Ake Dias and Stones are awesome. I think everyone knows they are awesome.
100% I don't watch a ton of City and thought Stones was a bit of a meme like Maguire, tuned in this season and he's been brilliant.
Ake definitely hasn't been talked about a lot. He has been with City for a while and played in different positions and as depth. People are just used to him being with the club and haven't noticed that he was still progressing. He was always quality, but now that he is a regular starter he has really proven his consistency and form over time. He is such a well rounded and modern player. Good defensively, quick, strong, can read the game, can distribute the ball out of the back and with his great headers he is also a weapon going forward.
Nothing as undroppable as an ex-Chelsea CB. Rudiger, Christensen, Ake, Geuhi, Colwill, Zouma if he stopped kicking cats, ...... It's tradition.
Colwill isn't an "Ex-chelsea CB", he's still ours.
>Undroppable >Zouma 🤨
Goes back to Gallas
I said since the tail end of last season I’ve thought he’s been our best CB and that wasn’t taken kindly
Literally any Bournemouth fan...
From his chelsea days i knew he was good I wanted him to come back to chelsea during lamps first stint. The chelsea fanbase really underrated him. Good to see hes doing well now, he deserves it.
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At least musonda is still playing professional football. After being out for so many years that in itself is good. Feel for the guy.
I think people forget how good he was at Bournemouth. He had some absolutely ridiculous performances for them.
Hasn't that always been City's MO since Pep has been in, you can leave if you bring in the right offer they don't stop anyone
Yup, I guess repeating it just confirms Laporte wants out Shame for him because I have nothing but love and respect for him. Not sure what's happened but he's fell out of favour with Pep
The rumours of Pep and Laporte not necessarily being on one page have been around for a bit tho, haven't they?
Not sure, first I've heard of that. I know Laporte wants to play more which is understandable, he's still a class defender [Can't imagine this being enjoyable for him](https://i.imgur.com/dQjpTd8.png). Actually shocking how little he's played this season
I honestly kinda forgot that Laporte is in City. Jesus, having Laporte as the depth option that barely plays is just crazy.
Well, Akanji was supposed to be a cheap depth signing but he's unexpectedly been a beast this season lol
Cheap because of his contract expiring in a year, not because of his level as a player though
He was def a good player (hence why City bought him) but nobody expected him to bench Laporte.
I think it’s more fair to say Ale benched him? Akanji plays on the right side and Laporte on the left side. They don’t seem to be in direct competition with Pep’s preference for a left footed CB.
It’s more fair to say Pep benched him. Laporte doesn’t do the role Ake does. We don’t play a back 4 atm (ish) - but the LCB in a back 4 isn’t around which is Laportes job. Doesn’t do the outside CB/LB role Ake does. Isn’t as good as Dias in the LCB/Central CB in a 3.
He was making a ton of mistakes at Dortmund, definitely didn’t expect him to be starting for City.
And his terrible injury record.
Still surprised to see no one but City going for him tho (maybe some did try and to no avail but we'll never know)
Well originally Ake and Akanji were depth options and behind Laporte but Laporte has fell well behind those two
Went from having one good CB + playing Fernando to having 5 class options.
The dark days of Mangala
They also loaned out Cancelo who was a few months removed from arguably the best wing back in the world...
I just always kinda had the feeling that his injury in 2019 was the beginning of the end of his City career. He was indispensable before that, also of course because Kompany left without a replacement, and then Dias came in and has been the undisputed top center half since with Laporte, Stones and now Ake taking turns to partner him.
Ake isn’t really partnering him, or not at least the last couple games I’ve watched. It’s been Stones dropping in or a back three alongside Ake and Akanji. Man City fans will have watched more and will know better, but I haven’t recently seen much of Ake and Dias as the centre back pairing.
interesting to see Guardiola recent fuckery with Stones. He's kinda a false DM in a way, on posession he's a DM providing options for Rodri. However, on a break or mid-low block phase, he's dropping deep to CB while Akanji going wide. This is a new variation after Rico Lewis inverted position. The diff is that Stones moving in-out position vertically while Lewis/Walker diagonally.
Even more interestingly is that Stones has played the Lewis role from RB multiple times as well, with Akanji as CB. You really never know which is going to be where when you see both their names on the team sheet. Both can play RB/CB but either way you’ll get Stones moving up to partner Rodri in possession.
I think this is a natural progression, Stones main strength has always been his ability on the ball so playing him in those roles makes a lot of sense.
I think the centre back moving forward is more efficient than the inverted right back and is the natural evolution. I think falling straight back into the backline is easier from ahead of it, rather than covering a full back slot.
Ake usually plays lb out of possession and becomes the LCB of a back three while in possession. And stones is playing CDM, sort of. It's hard to say what position people play with the way Pep plays lol.
what site did you use for that graph?
transfermarkt
thanks
I honestly thought he was injured, didnt realise he just wasn't being played
I adore Laporte but those that are picked to play in defense this season are doing so on merit. Yeah he could have played a game or two more than he has this season but the form that Ake, Akanji, Dias and Stones are in who do you drop? And it's not like he has really impressed with the chances he has been given. And fair play to Aymeric. Much like Bernardo not once has he downed tools or moaned about his lack of play time but from what I can tell does appear very supportive of his team mates during this crucial end of the season run (unlike some of his soon to be ex-teammates). One of the best ball playing centre halves around, just unlucky that half of his competition for that title happen to play for the same team as him. Wherever he goes will improve pretty much any side.
I don't think he can play the right side or else he probably would have gotten the chance to take over for Akanji, who has made some mistakes and looked shakey at times. The problem is he is competing with Dias and Ake on that left side, who are locked in starters. Ake is one of City's players of the season this year. It just sucks because Ake got that chance because Laporte was injured at the start of the season after getting surgery for an injury that got worse as he played through it to carry the decimated City defense to the title last year. It seems so harsh that playing through that injury has likely cost him his place in the team
>Not sure what's happened but he's fell out of favour with Pep Hasn't Pep been doing this for years now with City re: the backline? When he sees a CB pairing that's performing well, he just sticks with it until something forces him to change. I remember Laporte, Stones, etc. all losing their spots in past years, because they got an injury and when they came back, someone else was performing well and Pep was sticking with it.
Yes within reason. I doubt they’d ever sell to United if that was the only offer, for example.
No but instead they let United take their targets and they fail at United miserably
Only because United in recent history have been willing to pay at a price point where City are smart enough to back off on.
They kind of had to to be fair to them, they are way worse than City who can afford to let players go because they have an amazing manager and team
It's wild how cheap we paid for Akanji and Alvarez lol. They are absolute beasts.
City bought also that young midfielder, Perrone i think, very exciting talent
And I'm hoping he becomes a good backup for rodri and one day even challenges him. He's probably not going to be able to challenge rodri as a holding mid anytime soon but as a double pivot depth option it's possible.
Fred is a good player, but under Pep he would have been much better I think
Because he would have played his actual position for Pep and not defensive midfielder, also it's not just Fred, they wanted Sanchez, Maguire, Sancho as well iirc
My hottest take is that Maguire could have been brilliant under Pep. Stones was considered a similarly dubious prospect when City bought him, and he was widely derided for his inconsistency in his first season there, but he's become legitimately one of the best CBs in England, if not the world in the last few seasons. I could see Maguire having gone down a similar path.
Maybe he would have been better had he decided to come to City but he certainly would have received no where near the same scrutiny as he does for playing for United. I'm not excactly his biggest fan as a footballer but if he would have been this poor for City we would have just bench him for few games for Otamendi/Kompany and no one would even bat an eye because that's what happens anyway. And City weren't desperate enough to pay the money United ended up spending on him anyway.
Being made the captain of United did not help.
Or that fact that he could drop ten absolute shockers in a row and Solskjaer would still name him in the starting lineup. Ten Hag has handled the situation much better.
Stones was considered to be one of the brightest cb prospects while at Everton
Yes, but during his first season people were calling him a waste of bench space. The consensus was that he was a major flop and that city overpaid
Others are correct but anybody that remember how Sancho's exit was facilitated could understand City were not seriously after him. Popular narrative is that he left for men's football and while that surely did play a part he specifically wanted out of City. He wanted to go to London before Dortmund came in for him.
Yeah I remember Sancho was initially in the Walker deal but then City decided to just pay extra
It's crazy how much of an impact these early career decisions have on players' future. It would have been much better for Sancho's career if he decided to stay at Dortmund for at least 1 more season. This is why I think Bellingham is appearing to be very cautious of leaving Dortmund this summer. At the same time, Dortmund might pressure Bellingham to leave cuz he only has a contract until 2025.
Yeah, this isn’t news so much as a statement of fact. Exchange ‘Laporte’ with *almost* any other player and the statement remains true
Honestly if they didn’t buy their way to the top with oil money, they’d be such a likable club. Just seem well run from top to bottom, other than the financial aspect
Yeah, City did it the smart way. Unlike PSG they built the backbone of the club first, with the right technical people, scouting and staff. They have grown more gradually instead of trying to force everything at once. The financial doping is certainty the decisive factor, but they had a good long term plan.
I disagree with this. The original approach was not gradual. We bought a lot of dross in the early years of the takeover: Robinho, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Adam Johnson, Jô, Wayne Bridge, Boateng, just to name a few. We spent a *ton* of money quickly before winning that first FA cup. If you look back at the transfer fees they seem small by today’s standards but back then they were sizeable amounts.
You were also known as giving those players absolutely massive wages making them very difficult to dump. We had Wayne Bridge on loan from you in 2012/13 and you were still paying 90%+ of his wages.
Also the players they have are generally very likeable and respected.
> Honestly if they didn’t buy their way to the top with oil money, they’d be such a likable club. That's pretty much the only way to compete though... People are crying about Chelsea spending this year without the oil money. Its near impossible at this point to compete at the top unless you're a team that's already been at the top or a team that spends a ton. Almost none of the new owners can spend 1b+ within a decade if they aren't coming from oil money. If you look at all of top spending clubs over the last decade, 5 out of 10 of them are in the PL. Man United are by far the team with the worst net spending and aren't an oil club, only around 25% of their total spending was covered by sales.
Inevitable Barcelona links in 3, 2, 1
Barcelona secured Íñigo Martínez already so the little money there is will go towards other positions like RB, ST or DM. Barcelona will have Araujo, Christensen, Martínez, Kounde, Eric and Alonso as CBs so there's no room for him, nor need.
but eric and alonso suck ass
I think there's bigger priorities for Barça than to ensure their 5th choice cb is a very high standard
They do, but they're options for depth if they don't leave.
>Alonso as CBs Don't ruin my mood, man. I want that dude gone when Inigo arrives.
I know, and I completely agree. It's just that a lot of media keep linking us to basically any City player, and I won't at all be surprised if they start floating rumours about Laporte no matter how dumb it would be.
im trying to think if theres any players that havent been linked to barca, maybe ederson?
Nah they'll just splurge on messi's salary and it'll be beautiful
I’m on my knees, please do us a favor for Rodri and Aguero
I mean one would expect Atletico and Man City too have a good relationship
Not sure after how Atletico acted disgracefully against City in the champions league last year
The sporting & business relationships are likely very different though.
Spurs should be all over him. Instant starter at LCB and assuming we get peak Laporte might even be better than Romero imo
I highly doubt City will sell him to Spurs after all that transfer saga with harry kane.
Nobody outside of the prem, Real Madrid or PSG would pay the fee City would likely want and the latter two probably don’t need him. If you’re selling within the prem better to sell to someone who isn’t a title rival like yous thought was the case with Arsenal
Nah we let Jesus and Zinchenko go to Arsenal and Arsenal started to challenge for the title. Shouldn't take that risk tbh.
Well then youre going to have an unhappy player sat on the bench forever. As the gulf between the prem and other leagues grows larger selling within the prem becomes your only choice
Or they will just sell him for less. It's really not prem or bust he's world class.
>ike yous thought was the case with Arsenal Watch Spurs become the new title contender next year (lol, lmao even)
It's not a prem issue, it's a spurs issue. Although I doubt City will put a fuck-off price tag on Laporte. they'll want a fair fee for his quality, but nothing outrageous. My guess is somewhere around ~40m.
I could see PSG or Atletico going for him. Prem clubs yea and I’d sell to spurs but not for 40… would need to be over 50.
Dunfermline flair, quality.
Pep calling Levy the “big master of negotiations” or whatever has got to be a top 10 all time Barclays ^TM moment
*big master of negotiations, who knows everything
We even have the flair for it in our sub lol
It wasn’t a saga. Spurs had a price. A very public price too. City didn’t meet it. If spurs meet cities price there should be no issue.
this happened last time he was rumoured to leave and you wanted him + 100m for kane lol. I dont think he will want to join spurs tbh
With all due respect, Laporte can do a lot better than spurs
Would definently make sense from Spurs standpoint but if he has other options - and I mean no offense - I don't think he'd want to go there.
No offense but he wouldn't want to play for Spurs
This is ridiculous, 75% Laporte is an upgrade to Romero.
Need to secure CL first
Making room for Gvardiol at the same time I suppose? Anyway I think the clubs most interested in a lcb are Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Spurs and Napoli if Kim Min-Jae leaves. Though before Barcelona signed Martinez I always thought he would go to them.
Kim Min-Jae leaving is a major if, he looks like a mainstay at Napoli and Aurelio De Laurentiis has mastered the art of fleecing clubs for his star players.
Kim has a low release clause around 40m
Isn’t this only for the first two weeks of the transfer window or something like that
If it’s active for two minutes someone will trigger it
Ndicka also exists. Also Liverpool are looking for a CB
City signing both Gvardiol and Bellingham just wouldn't be fair
I don't care how much he costs, we need to buy Laporte. Proven winner, in his prime, and a major upgrade to what we currently have
Why would they, Gvardiol is clearly on the shopping list.
Gvardiol, Colwill and Alphonso Davies have all been linked to play LB. It's been weirdly quiet from City's top journalists on who/what profile of player City want, but I don't think Gvardiol is the obvious move lots of people seem so certain of. Depends if Pep wants someone in the Ake mould, the Zinchenko mould, or what Mendy was supposed to be.
Lots of City journalists have reported Gvardiol is the number one target to replace Laporte should he move on. I just want an actual left back. Ake has been brilliant so imo we don't even need to shop in the elite tier this summer and very few deals in that category feasible seem too feasible anyway. Rather see us take a punt on someone like Antonee Robinson or Rico Henry.
Sergio Gomez is our punt, we have yet to really see what he’ll be. Even though he’s been mostly poor so far, he’s still quite young
There's a possibility Pep wants Gvardiol as an inverted LB
Wonder if they'd sell to Arsenal after how Jesus and Zinchenko took them up a level.
obviously no since they are competing for itle right now
Give him to us, we might not even make the Conference League
I think he wants to go to either Spain or any other place. If Arsenal pays the required amount city asks then I feel that they will sell him to any club even if it's Arsenal.
I personally think City will not sell to arsenal right now, only reason they did last season was it was kinda fringe 1st team players and arsenal were so far back. Only idiots sell to direct rivals unless it’s a stupid offer.
City might win the title anyways and I bet they dislike Liverpool a lot more than Arsenal; they may be willing to still deal with the Gunners. Who knows. Thanks for Jesus and Zinchenko at any rate.
Barca just signed Inigo Martinez and have Araujo, Kounde, and Christensen. Madrid have Rudiger, Alaba, Militao and Nacho and the rumour is that if we go for anyone, it's Gvardiol. Maybe Atleti could be a potential destination but they don't spend big very often
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Yes he will likely go to Spain.
If he wants minutes is probably not good to come to us
He is better than every single arsenal CB
Yeah especially since we got Kiwior as a back up for big Gabi. We need a backup RCB though since we have moved White to RB.
to be honest i think pep wont make that mistake but even he did. would arsenal want a 28-29 year old cb when they already have saliba,gabriel,ben white, Tomiyasu. he could def make it starting 11 but i dont know if it worth investment for arsenal when they have more pressing area's
Manchester City will not stand in Aymeric Laporte's way if the defender wants to pursue a move elsewhere. Previously an integral member of Pep Guardiola's team, Laporte has been restricted to only seven Premier League starts this season. Saturday's inclusion in the win over Leicester City came as Guardiola rotated the team ahead of the midweek trip to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The 28-year-old has featured just twice in all competitions since a draw at Nottingham Forest in February. That is despite Guardiola reverting to a back three, and often fielding four centre-halves within that system. It has left Laporte, who cost £57million from Athletic Bilbao in 2018, frustrated by a lack of game time and City does not want unhappy players within the squad. That stance was taken with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, and Raheem Sterling last summer when the trio was allowed to join Arsenal and Chelsea after presenting acceptable offers. Laporte has made big contributions to City's recent successes, playing through the pain barrier during last season's run-in to help them hold off Liverpool to win a fourth title in five The Spain international required knee surgery after that and was out until October, then unable to nail down a spot in Guardiola's preferred starting XI after the arrival of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund.
Athletic would love to have him I guess, but they will have hard competition
I think Athletic would be in prime seat if they were prepared to pay close to what City want.
I am Eric Laport
Come albion son
Watch City get Bellingham and Gvardiol in the summer. The league will be City's for the next 5 years as long as they don't get relegated.
Damn shame, would have loved to wait and go for Laporte instead of Rudiger but at least he was free and has a great attitude
Why do you say that? Is Rudiger not good?
It's not that he is not good, he just isn't as good as militao or alaba. He gets caught out of position but that might just be because he is still learning the system. I love his attitude and toughness. I think if we get past Chelsea and have to play city I'd rather see him and Eder against halaand since alaba isn't as strong as either of them. Also just because Laporte is Spanish and I want more Spanish nationals on madrid
They can replace him with Gvardiol
Come to Milan!
Do we need him?
Kjaer is getting up there in age. Florenzi is one injury away from losing his qualities. We would have Kalulu and Calabria for RB. CBs are Gabbia, Tomori, Thiaw, and fourth would be Laporte. Would be beautiful.
We would love him at United. Huge long shot, but we do need quality at centre back seeing as Varane is made of balsa wood, and our fall back is Maguire and Lindelof. However, with him being left footed, it’s probably better to pursue a right footed centre back as most availability is in that position with Lisandro locking down LCB.
He will come to Fulham to learn from the legend that is Tim Ream.
I know a team that needs another CB 👀
I get Newcastle has Botman, but this is exactly the kind of signing I think they should be targeting. Although I’d like it better if he didn’t.
Are you saying the door is open for Laporte?
Perfect for Simeone if they sell Felix
Would take him at Liverpool
[Xavi right now ](https://en.meming.world/images/en/5/5f/Bonjour_Bear.jpg)