Manchester City's 2024/25 campaign kicks off next weekend as they face off against local rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley.
The Cityzens will be looking for payback after the Red Devils beat them in the FA Cup final back in May, a defeat that set up this rematch in the capital.
Pep Guardiola could start the season as he means to go on by lifting a trophy and then aiming for more success across all competitions next term.
City only picked up one major trophy in the 2023/24 campaign – the Premier League title – and could want to do better in the two domestic cup competitions and the Champions League this time around.
The summer transfer window still has around four weeks left to go before it slams shut and this means that there is still time for the club to make additions.
Brazil international Savinho has been the only signing of the window, so far, on a permanent deal to bolster the manager's options in the wide areas.
There could yet be some change in the middle of the park for the Premier League champions, as players have been linked with exits and the club have been touted with interest in stars from elsewhere.
Possible midfield changes for Manchester City
Firstly, The Sun recently reported that Turkish giants Fenerbahce are keen on a deal to sign central midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Manchester City.
The outlet claimed that Jose Mourinho would like to snap up the Croatia international to bolster his midfield options but will have to splash a club-record £25m in order to do so.
It stated that City are looking to recoup the £25m that they paid to sign the Croatian star from Chelsea, as they would be open to cashing in on him for the right price.
Guardiola could ruthlessly ditch the former Inter ace from his squad by securing a deal for Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich, who could take up his place in the group – freeing up Kovacic to move on.
The Mirror reported earlier this summer that the Germany international is eager to reunite with the Spanish boss, who he worked with in Bavaria, after City joined the race for his services.
It was claimed that Liverpool and Arsenal are also eyeing up a possible swoop for the central midfielder, who only has 12 months left to run on his current contract.
The outlet stated that it will take a fee of around £30m to secure his services and City must snap him up in order to cash in on Kovacic for £25m this summer.
Mateo Kovacic's debut season with Manchester City
The 30-year-old maestro arrived at The Etihad from Chelsea last summer to provide Guardiola with an experienced and quality midfield option for the 2023/24 campaign.
Kovacic provided a steady but unspectacular presence in the middle of the park in the Premier League for the Cityzens, starting 16 of his 30 appearances in the division.
The central midfielder did provide some progression in possession with 5.80 progressive passes and 2.15 progressive carries per 90, which placed him within the top 24% or higher of midfielders in the Premier League, respectively.
However, Kovacic also ranked within the bottom 50% or lower for tackles (2.09), interceptions (0.58), and clearances (0.58) per 90, which suggests that his defensive work was not particularly impressive in comparison to his positional peers.
The former Real Madrid talent also struggled when it came to making a direct impact at the top end of the pitch as a creator for his teammates.
Appearances
30
Goals
1
Assists
0
Key passes per game
0.7
Pass accuracy
94%
As you can see in the table above, Kovacic only chipped in with one goal and failed to provide a single assist in the top-flight, with less than one key pass made per game on average.
This suggests that, despite a decent number of progressive passes, the Croatian's passes were not incisive enough to create chances for the attackers on a regular basis.
Kimmich could come in and allow City to cash in on Kovacic by being an upgrade on the £25m target for Fenerbahce, due to his quality in and out of possession.
Why Man City should sign Joshua Kimmich
The 29-year-old star is an experienced operator who has proven himself to be able to compete at the top level, with 91 caps for Germany and 390 appearances for Bayern in all competitions.
Kimmich's form from the 2023/24 campaign also suggests that he would come in and provide more quality than Kovacic in the middle of the park.
The German maestro, who was once hailed as "phenomenal" by Mourinho, ranked within the top 3% of Bundesliga midfielders for progressive passes per 90 (9.57) – almost four more per 90 than Kovacic.
He also ranked within the top 6% for Expected Assisted Goals per 90 (0.29) and this shows that the midfield whiz created high-quality chances for his teammates at an impressive rate in comparison to his positional peers.
Appearances
28
30
Goals
1
1
Assists
6
0
Big chances created
11
3
Key passes per game
2.6
0.7
As you can see in the table above, Kimmich's chance creation numbers back that up as he significantly outperformed the City man when it came to opening up opposition defences.
These statistics suggest that Guardiola's team would improve their level of chance creation by bringing the £30m-rated wizard into the group to replace Kovacic, who does not offer much in that regard.
The Bayern battler also made 5.0 ball recoveries per game and won 56% of his duels in the Bundesliga, compared to the Croatian's 2.4 ball recoveries per match and 55% duel success rate in the Premier League.
This indicates that Kimmich could also recover possession more frequently for City, by winning his duels and cutting out opposition attacks, and that means that he could offer more than the Fenerbahce target on and off the ball.
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Therefore, Guardiola must ruthlessly cash in on Kovacic by swooping to sign the German sensation as his replacement, freeing him up to leave.
