Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has the chance to land a perfect transfer deal this summer by signing Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella.
Even though the Citizens have already brought in a new midfielder during this current summer transfer window in the shape of Mateo Kovacic, who joined from Chelsea on a four-year deal worth £30m, we feel that they could also add some further reinforcement to their midfield with a player who would be an immediate upgrade on the Croatian.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Guardiola is a big fan of the 26-year-old and City could look to make a move for him should they end up selling Bernardo Silva this summer.
Kovacic vs Barella
Even though he played over 900 more league minutes than the new City midfielder last season, Barella showed how much of a better player he is than Kovacic, particularly from an attacking point of view.
Specifically, the Italian had a higher rate of shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (4.17 vs 3.27) than the 29-year-old, as well as a higher total of key passes (55 vs 23), progressive carries (76 vs 37) and progressive passes (214 vs 153).
In terms of their respective overall performances throughout the previous Premier League and Serie A campaigns, the Inter midfielder racked up a season rating of 6.94/10, which eclipses the rating of 6.48/10 that Kovacic earned for himself.
Having already seen Ilkay Gundogan leave the club in this window, it would make sense for them to bring in a player like Barella, who has previously been described as a “fantastic” player by Jamie Carragher, should Silva join a new side this summer as well.
Moving forward, if the Portuguese international ends up leaving City in the next few weeks, we feel that bringing in the Italian could be a perfect way for the treble winners to further upgrade their midfield following the arrival of Kovacic.
