Three players Manchester City should target in the summer

Currently 22 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, it’s clear that Manchester City must strengthen in the summer or risk falling further behind Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.

Whilst Manchester City haven’t exactly been terrible this season, the points gap to the league leaders is astronomical. But that just goes to show just how strong Liverpool are this campaign, with a slip up looking extremely unlikely.

Speculation surrounding the future of Pep Guardiola had come into prominence in the past months, but it appears the Spaniard will now remain at the Premier League club, whom he has a contract with until 2021. And so, if Manchester City are to challenge for the Premier League title, and even the Champions League, here are three players the Citizens should be looking at.

Lautaro Martínez

Sergio Aguero isn’t getting any younger and Manchester City would do well not to be looking at his fellow countryman, Lautaro Martínez. The 22-year-old is having an exceptional season at Inter Milan, scoring 16 and creating four in 27 games across the 2019/20 campaign for the Argentina international.

Signing Martinez from Argentine side Racing Club for £25 million is certainly smart business for Inter Milan bosses. The Italian club will receive a fee likely to be three times that should the 22-year-old move on, with a number of elite European clubs showing previous interest in the attacker.

Since joining Inter in 2018, Martinez has scored 25 goals in 62 games and whilst that doesn’t sound too much in comparison to Kylian Mbappe and the like, his style of play offers much more to what they already have at the Etihad. An eye for goal, Martinez is lethal inside the penalty area. The Argentina international is on the receiving end of multiple fouls and offers something different to Gabriel Jesus.

If Manchester City are to sign Martinez, he’s likely to cost the Premier League club close to £90 million, if not more. And whilst that is steep, it could prove to be beneficial in today’s market.

Ben Chilwell 

A graduate of Leicester City’s youth academy, 23-year-old Ben Chilwell is really making a name for himself since making his Premier League debut at the age of 20 in 2016. The left-back has gone on to earn 11 England caps under Gareth Southgate and he’s likely going to be a mainstay in that England team for the foreseeable future, with a starting birth at Euro 2020 extremely likely.

It will certainly take a significant fee for Manchester City to prize away Leicester City’s graduate. But Ben Chilwell is exactly what the reigning Premier League champions need. They’ve struggled at left-back of late, with Benjamin Mendy signing for a big free, to spend most of his time injured whilst Aymeric Laporte arrived from Athletic Club to fill the void. The Frenchman prefers a role in central defence which has seen midfielder Zinchenko deputise at left-back whilst Angelino has been shipped out on loan to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.

It’s clear that Manchester City are in dire need of a left-back and Ben Chilwell would make the perfect addition. The England international is a player whom Pep Guardiola could mould into one of Europe’s leading left-back’s and despite being just 23, he’s already an experienced and valued member of the Premier League.

Ruben Dias

We touched upon this in January, but Manchester City are still yet to fill the void left by the departure of captain Vincent Kompany. Not only the leadership of the Belgian, but also the presence that Kompany had in central defence. This is something that Manchester City could get back with the signing of 22-year-old Portugal international Ruben Dias from SL Benfica.

The youngster possesses all the right attributes of a defender his age whilst the Premier League club targeted Dias during last summer’s transfer window, amongst a host of other clubs. A graduate from Benfica’s infamous youth academy, if Manchester City don’t snap him up, another club such as Real Madrid will.

The 22-year-old has featured in all six Champions League games this season for Benfica and has featured in 20 league games for Benfica. He’s a mainstay at the Portuguese club but when the right name comes calling, it will be difficult to turn down a move to the Premier League.

How well do you know English football? Want to challenge the best English Fantasy Managers? Play www.epl-fantasy.com now.

To leave a comment, you must be logged into www.eurofantasyleague.com