Transfer Roundup- Manchester City

The Citizens have had a tough start to their season. 18-yard-box reviews how the big spenders fared this time in the transfer market

Players like Edinson Cavani, Fernando Llorente, Radamel Falcao,and Javi Martinez were all tipped to wear the blue outfit but none of them ended up coming to the Etihad. A dull transfer market it was for City. It looked like Mancini was happy with the squad at hand and wanted to create a legacy of the team.

However being drawn again in the group of death in the Champions League provoked Mancini to make 5 signings in the last 26 hours of the window. Arsene Wenger did it last year and now it was Mancini's turn. 18 Yard Box analyses the transfer dealings and what they bring to the already star-studded side.

What They Lacked Last Season

Can City survive without this midfielder?

When a team turns out to be the Champions, it is hard to find what they lacked. But still, no team is perfect.  Joe Hart won the golden glove last season but  the defenders did little to help him. Other than Kompany and Lescott, the defence was rather very weak. Kompany's injury left City with the inexperienced Savic, an unreliable defender. The left backs last season were impressive but sticking to Clichy , who could not reproduce the form which he had Arsenal, was not a wise decision. 

City lacking depth is not usual but with no one to replace Yaya Toure in the CDM position last season, City were over reliant on the Ivorian. The likes of Barry could not step in when Toure was injured and City's frailties were seen.  

Ins And Outs

Rodwell In De Jong Out! Smart move?

The Ins-

1.       Jack Rodwell (Everton, 14 million)

2.       Scott Sinclair (Swansea City, 7 million)

3.       Matija Nastasic (Fiorentina, 12 million)

4.       Maicon (Inter Milan, 3 million)

5.       Javi Garcia (Benfica, 17.5 million)

6.       Richard Wright (Preston, Free)

The Outs

1.       Adam Johnson (Sunderland, 11 million)

2.       Nigel De Jong (AC Milan, 3.5 million)

3.       Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham, 6 million)

4.       Vladimir Weiss (Pescara, 3 million)

5.       Stefan Savic (Fiorentina, part deal for Nastasic)

Released

Owen Hargreaves, Gunnar Nielsen

What they improved this season

Javi Garcia might be answer to City's midfield woes

Adding Jack Rodwell and Javi Garcia to the sqaud not only increases the depth but provides enough cover should Silva or Yaya Toure become victims to injuries. Getting in Nastasic as a part deal for Savic might prove to be a master stroke.  Keeping the Argentine duo alongwith Dzeko and Balotelli inspite of fight for places is something Mancini would be proud of. City are surely not short in front of goal and have well to keep their talismen from going anywhere.

What they still lack

Maicon needs to step up his game

The injury to Richards has forced Manicini to dig deep in his pockets and buy Maicon. However the Brazilian lacks Premier League experience and has been the weakpoint of City's defence so far. Caught tracking back alot of times against Madrid, Maicon still has a lot to learn about the Premier League before making the right  back place his own. With Arsenal coming up City will surely not be reliant on him.

The recent failure against Madrid was accompanied by the excuse of inexperience in Europe which is not going to work anymore. If a man invests a billion Euros in a team and has a squad boasting many big names in Europe, he expects the results at the earliest. A failure to get out of the group stages might spell the end of the Mancini era.

Buy of the Season- Javi Garcia

The 26 year old former Benfica midfielder has to be the buy of the season. A thorough box to box midfielder, Javi Garcia has already made an impact by scoring in his debut. Moreover he has also helped Yaya Toure by tracking back and thereby freeing him to play his attacking style of football. The Spanish international has linked with his compatriot David Silva pretty well and together the trio might be the midfield of the Premier League. 

Comment: The season has not started well for Mancini's men. 2 draws and 2 wins in the League program sees them 2 points adrift of the League leaders Chelsea. City need to up their game to match the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, who are already looking strong to snatch their crown away. If City do not defend their title then they will have no one but themselves to be blamed. On paper City have the strongest squad but games are never won on paper. Are they?

Written By,

Arjun Mishra

Arjun is a contributor for 18 Yard Box.