CITY Could Tanguy be guy to fill Toure’s boots?
HOW can anyone replace Yaya Toure at City?
Despite the controversial exit of the Ivorian from the Etihad at the end of last season, there is still nobody quite like the charismatic central midfielder.
While Pep Guardiola won’t necessarily be looking to recruit a like-for-like successor to the club legend, there will be an interest in finding a player who can offer similar qualities to a key component in City’s Premier League title-winning sides.
Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele is certainly one player who should be on the radar of City when they look to reinforce their central core.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom, which was capped recently with his maiden call up to the France national team for their upcoming Nations League matches.
If there were any question marks over his credentials, you only have to look at the competition in Les Bleus’ midfield ranks to see what an exceptional talent he is.
Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi are just some of the obstacles in his path at national level. Ndombele has only spent one full year at Lyon, who he joined permanently over the summer, after an impressive loan spell from Angers last season.
However, in that short period of time he has already made a telling impact on French football.
The box-to-box midfielder made 32 league appearances for Lyon last season and managed to create a staggering 44 chances throughout the campaign. A total only bettered at Lyon by attacking talents Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir.
His agility is also an attribute which is sure to impress Guardiola, and in terms of defensive stats only two players at the club made more tackles than Ndombele throughout last season.
Encouragingly, the player has already made large strides to prove he is more than just a one-season wonder.
Ndombele has already managed four assists in eight league matches this season, clear evidence of his eagerness to get forward and pass forward at every opportunity.
On his Champions League debut the youngster showed City exactly what they are missing as he dominated against a midfield consisting of Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan and David Silva.
The only query on him is that Ndombele still represents an incredibly raw talent, although this is a challenge which Guardiola may relish given the progress made by the likes of Phil Foden in recent years.
Doubts remain over the 21-yearold’s maturity on the ball and while he is an incredibly strong athlete, it remains to be seen if he has the requisite discipline to make it in a Guardiola side.
Ndombele still has a lot to learn if he is to make the leap from wonderkid to world-class midfielder but there is certainly reason to be excited.
Guardiola is reportedly a huge fan of the 21-year-old and if he can continue to progress at the same sharp trajectory, then City should act swiftly to secure his signature ahead of Tottenham and other interested suitors.