When a soccer team experiences something as drastic as a change of manager there is always bound to be major changes. A club’s identity changes with a modified playing style and often a change of preferred starting 11. But when Pep Guardiola became the manager of Manchester City there were some changes that no one saw coming and in my opinion and the opinion of many these major changes have backfired.
Although it’s sad to see it’s fairly reasonable to say the Joe Hart’s career in Man City colors is well and truly over. One of the first things Guardiola looked to do after taking charge was to bolster his goalkeeping options. This is perfectly okay but Joe Hart appeared to be forced out of the club which given that he’s been a long-term servant for the club could be seen as disrespectful. But it’s no secret that Guardiola is a man who knows what he’s on about when it comes to soccer. After all, Hart was one of the main reasons for England’s shocking performance at Euro 2016 and following that things were never going to be smooth for Hart. But when a new manager comes in and immediately looks to replace a fan favorite, he better has some good ideas up his sleeve!
In comes Claudio Bravo. The Chilean was signed from Barcelona for a reported £17 million – which given that Bravo is 33 years of age as well as a goalkeeper is no budget signing. The keeper had a good record at Barca and it’s been heavily rumoured that Guardiola wanted the player for his ability with his feet. Given that Pep very much adopts a “Barca style of play” everywhere he goes, on the surface this didn’t appear to seem a bad deal for the Citizens. But what Guardiola seems to have ignored is that although Bravo had a good record at Barca he was playing behind what is arguably a much better defence in an extremely unbalanced league.
Issues arose surrounding Claudio Bravo the minute he stepped on the field. The keeper made his debut in the Manchester derby against United which from the point of view of an outsider appeared to completely overwhelm him. Despite City coming out 2-1 victors it was a horror show for the Chilean. Dropping a routine catch at, of all people Ibrahimovic’s feet and then producing some of the most risky and unconvincing footwork seen in the Premier League for some time.
Fast forward less than half a year and it appears City are on the look out for replacements already. With Bravo proving to be very much sub par and Willy Caballero beginning to age City have a goalkeeping dilemma on their hands. initial reports suggest that the Manchester side have registered interest in Inter Milan’s Samir Handanovic but this has been swiftly shut down given that the Slovenian has only just signed a new contract.
But who is available? There simply are no obvious options. Donnarumma is rumoured to be having issues agreeing a new contract but in my opinion City need an experienced first team keeper. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Guardiola looks to pick off one of the numerous good quality German goalkeepers. If I had to pick one of the bunch I’d go for Bernd Leno of Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen are performing below par this season but Leno has proven to be an incredibly key player for the side. At only 24 years of age, yet boasting 50 appearances in European fixtures, the majority coming in the Champions League, he certainly fits the profile for the type of goalkeeper that City need.
