CITY Pressure is now all on ace Fernandinho
YOU know it is a quiet deadline day when the Sky Sports cameras don’t even bother panning to the Etihad on their regular roams around the country.
The big City story of the day was Aleks Zinchenko, a 21-year-old with eight Premier League appearances, turning down a move to Wolves to attempt another unlikely burst into the Blues’ first team - as he had indicated he would do last month.
City have been successful in moving away from panicked deadline day deals and with good reason – as Gary Neville repeated on Thursday: “What the transfer deadline gives you is a clear indication of which are the badly-run football clubs!”
Blues’ record £60m signing Riyad Mahrez already looks hungry to prove his worth, having been frustrated in not joining in January.
But if the Blues spent the last day of the transfer window content to have their feet up, they will have to hope one player is not weighed down by his responsibilities.
Fernandinho has long been held as the glue that holds City together, perfectly shielding the defence while pouncing to move the ball forward and start counters.
It has been easy to forget the Brazilian had an outstanding campaign last season, starting 46 of 59 games. There is no reason to believe he cannot produce a repeat performance, except City did plan to strengthen in his position.
Jorginho was identified as the ideal candidate to share duties with the 33-year-old across four competitions.
If it was a significant blow not to see him come, the fact the player termed ‘exceptional’ by Guardiola is at Chelsea will bring unwanted passing statistics and comparisons on a regular basis.
City chose not to go back into the transfer market, reluctant to overpay for a player that does not exactly fit their needs and happily talking up any of Zinchenko, Fabian Delph, Ilkay Gundogan, Claudio Gomes and John Stones as potential fillers.
Some will end up playing a few games in the role, but Fernandinho will be wanted for every major game where City want to leave as little to chance as possible.
Where Guardiola can pick and choose in almost every other area of the team depending on the specific strengths (and weaknesses) of the opposition, the coach still has a clear hierarchy for the holding midfield role.
If Fernandinho can maintain his incredible level then any concerns about a missed opportunity in this summer’s transfer window will be forgotten, but there is more pressure on the midfield star than ever before.