PLIGHT BLUES
Carra: Pep needs £65m Dias to help him win title.. or he’ll quit Etihad
A YEAR ago, Manchester City’s bench was the envy of the Premier League, let alone their formidable starting line-up.
Pep Guardiola’s side that day included Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez, but it was City’s bench that showed their real might and strength in depth.
Guardiola’s subs for the 3-1 win at Everton comprised Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Joao Cancelo, Benjamin Mendy and Claudio Bravo.
Contrast that with Sunday’s 5-2 capitulation to Leicester and the bench contained only two established names in Aymeric Laporte and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The rest were untried and youth players – Zack Steffen, Cole Palmer, Tommy Doyle and Liam Delap, as well as new signing Ferran Torres.
A glut of injuries and illness is responsible for the depleted personnel, but the strength in depth is no longer there, a consequence of City’s poor work in the transfer market.
The arrival of Ruben Dias, who signed last night(below) in a deal worth £65million from Benfica, will go some way to addressing City’s defensive frailties, but with Aguero and Gabriel Jesus unavailable for at least another month, up front is also a major concern.
Playing Sterling as a false nine failed to come off against Leicester, while Delap, 17, who scored a wonder goal on his debut in City’s 2-1 EFL Cup win over Bournemouth, showed on his Prem debut what he is - a raw talent still finding his way. A new striker is required before Tuesday’s deadline, while Mendy’s shambolic display showed the need to recruit a left-back of stature.
But it is the signing of Dias, ostensibly the long-awaited replacement for former City skipper Vincent Kompany, that must come off for Guardiola, according to Sky pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
“I look at Dias coming in and I think there’s really a lot at stake for City with this signing,” said Carragher. “If he’s not a huge success, I don’t think City can win the league.
“I don’t see Pep staying at the club next season, if they don’t win the league.
“If this doesn’t work, I think it’s possibly the end of the Pep project.”