Manchester City's Summer Rebuild

Karan Ahgun

— 3 min read
Manchester City's Summer Rebuild

The 24/25 season was disappointing by Man City's recent standards. The former Premier League champions finished in 3rd place after a tumultuous season, which saw them go on a run of 5 consecutive losses at one point. City spent significantly in the January transfer window and have already spent a lot this summer ahead of the Club World Cup. So how will the revamp help City for next season?

The most exciting player City have brought in this summer has to be Rayan Cherki. The Frenchman was signed from Lyon for around £35 million and was impressive in the 24/25 season, contributing 12 goals and 20 assists in all competitions. Cherki has been spoken of since he was a teenager and by taking the next step at Man City, he will have a greater stage to showcase his prodigious talent. Cherki's creative flair is there for all to see but the question is how that will fit into Pep's systematic football. People are drawing comparisons to when City signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa. Grealish was a showman at Villa but after signing for City, we saw less and less of that maverick streak as Pep presumably coached that out of him. Cherki will need to keep some of that maverick streak to play to his potential so there will need to be some compromise between him and Guardiola if he is to be a long-term success at City.

City have also signed Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan for around £46.5 million. City's midfield was in much need of bolstering after the departure of Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri's recovery from his knee injury and underperformance from the likes of Gundogan and Kovacic. Reijnders was probably Milan's best performer in their lacklustre 24/25 season, and is an impactful box-to-box midfielder who would be the perfect partner for Rodri. The Dutchman listed 14 goal contributions in Serie A, and is well-known for his ball-carrying abilities and proficiency in playing progressive passes. He can also carry out his defensive duties to a more than competent level, which will have further endeared himself to Pep Guardiola especially after seeing the amount of times City's midfield got ran through last season.

The final major addition City have made so far this summer is Rayan Ait-Nouri. The Algerian left-back was signed from Wolves for around £36 million. Pep's City sides have had a tedious relationship with conventional left-backs, but Ait-Nouri could change that. He has always been an eye-catching player since joining Wolves, with his notable attributes including silky dribbling and impressive ball retention. Last season, Ait-Nouri registered 4 goals and 6 assists, showing that his end product from the left-back/left wingback position has improved. This would appeal to Guardiola due to his appreciation for players who can play in a number of positions and who are comfortable playing anywhere on the pitch.

City's major signings at the start of this summer have shown real intent and act as a warning sign to the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal for next season's title race. These signings have also been impressive for the value of the transfers, especially when you take into consideration that Liverpool are ready to sign Florian Wirtz for a record British transfer fee this summer. There could be more signings on offer for City, as they aim to complete a full rebuild within a couple of transfer windows!

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