Manchester City are set to see a big change take place behind the scenes in the summer.
During the October international break, it was reported that Txiki Begiristain will leave City at the end of the season.
It was then claimed that Hugo Viana will replace Begiristain as the Manchester club’s sporting director.
On the pitch, recent weeks have seen City lose four matches in a row, the first time a side managed by Pep Guardiola has done so.
Now that the November international break has rolled around, a pundit has raised a potential issue the Citizens have that Viana may have to fix by the time he officially starts his role at the Etihad Stadium in the summer.
- Who is Hugo Viana? Get familiar with the favourite to replace Txiki Begiristain as Man City Director of Football
Pat Nevin exposes potential Man City squad issue
A recent extract from Pat Nevin’s Football Extra newsletter shared on the BBC Sport website saw the Scotsman raise this particular issue regarding the current City squad.
He said: “In top-flight football, teams have to make sure they don’t age too much together, because when the fall comes, it can be precipitous.
“Manchester City look threadbare, but they also have an ageing core group. I picked what I think is the best City 11 with all players being fit and available, and an average age of 29.5 years popped out.
“This may sound perfect, but the likes of Phil Foden and Erling Haaland pulled that average down considerably.”
City have one of the oldest squads in the Premier League
Despite having the joint-second smallest squad in the Premier League with 24 players in total, City have an average squad age of 27.8, leaving only three other clubs with a higher average age according to Transfermarkt.
Specifically, the Blues have nine players in their ranks who have hit the age of 30.
| Club | Average Squad age |
| West Ham United | 28.7 |
| Fulham | 28 |
| Newcastle United | 27.9 |
| Everton | 27.8 |
| Manchester City | 27.8 |
Back in October, after the news of City’s impending sporting director change emerged, a report from The Athletic shared details on Viana’s transfer blueprint at City and what that’s likely to entail based on Begiristain’s main vision, saying this on the matter.
It said: “In terms of the playing staff, Begiristain wants each position to have at least two players comfortable playing there, ideally with an age gap between them, so there is an inbuilt succession plan.
“The intention to have succession plans woven into the squad essentially reflects how the club and wider group are run, on both football and business fronts.”
With that in mind and now what Nevin has said on City’s ageing squad, the upcoming summer transfer window could likely see some of the Manchester club’s older players make their way out and see some younger talents make their way in to replace them.
