Manchester City don’t seem to be sure whether or not they should be going out to secure the services of Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk. The club recently announced they were pulling out of the race to sign the centre-back because of the Saints’ high asking price, believing they couldn’t justify the £60 million being asked of them.
However, that was before Liverpool made themselves the laughing stock of the transfer window so far. They had looked in pole position to sign the defender, until Southampton reported them for an alleged illegal approach and Liverpool pulled out of the transfer, issuing an apology.
With Chelsea still sniffing around, City may not be as out of the race as they had previously suggested. It all hinges on several factors — clearly they’re not enthusiastic about the price, but if the player wants to leave and Southampton want to sell there could be some room for negotiation.
It may also depend on how much Pep Guardiola is in the market for a new centre-back. The manager’s first priority needs to be full-backs, since there is only one left at the club following the departures of Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy — that’s if Aleksandar Kolarov isn’t now more fancied as a central defender instead.
Beyond that, it’s been no secret the Catalan has been an admirer of Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci. It has been reported that, even though he turned down the chance to join City last summer, the transfer tussle there may not be finished.
The pressure is on Guardiola to get the defence correct in 2017-18. For years, City’s back four has been one of the club’s weakest links — following summer after summer of bad investment on the likes of Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi, who cost a reported £42m and £32m respectively.
Even £47.5m signing John Stones admitted he was underwhelming in his debut campaign at the Etihad, though it’s clear to anybody who watched him there is potential for vast improvement that didn’t seem present with some of City’s other defensive additions down the years.
Either way, City have spent a lot and got nothing like value for money — except when their captain Vincent Kompany has been fit and in the team. Alongside him, even Mangala seemed settled and up to the job, however the skipper’s injury problems in the last two-and-a-half years have meant he’s made limited appearances. The Belgian’s run of eight matches at the end of last season was the longest he’s been in the team since November 2014.
It’s little coincidence City became a comedy of errors at the back in the time that Kompany was absent but that only serves to highlight just how important it is for the club to get their transfer business correct. At some point, be it next season or in several years’ time, Kompany is not going to be a viable option and City will have to do without him.
The final eight games of 2016-17 probably saved his career at the Etihad. That he managed to stay fit throughout and look back to his old self, slotting into Guardiola’s style of play effortlessly and instantly making the team look so much more solid at the back, will have pleased the manager.
It has, though, thrown up a gamble. Do City trust his injury problems are behind him and go into the coming campaign without making a centre-back addition? Or do they spend yet more money on that position as additional insurance should the worst come to the worst?
If Kompany hadn’t been fit for the end of last season, you can bet your life City wouldn’t have been so hesitant in their pursuit of Van Dijk.
What will give the fans hope that the captain can be back to his old self was how the club managed his latest return from injury. In the past, under Manuel Pellegrini, such was the desperation to get him back into the squad, Kompany was thrown back into the lineup as soon as he was back into full training and inevitably broke down in the next few matches.
Guardiola continually told reporters Kompany was fit and available from about February onwards last season, but the Belgian didn’t feature regularly until mid-April. Perhaps that careful management and very slow return helped the defender build up both his strength and confidence.
If 2017-18 is the year that Kompany is back in business, perhaps City can afford to play hard ball on their defensive targets for this summer. It’s a risk, but it’d be a shrewd one if the skipper can make a very welcome return on a regular basis.
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