Jamie Carragher explains how Pep Guardiola must ‘attack’ Man City’s biggest problem

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Manchester City have been in a serious slump over the past few weeks.

Specifically, City have lost their five previous matches across all competitions, which is something that Pep Guardiola has never seen one of his sides do before.

Their latest defeat saw Tottenham Hotspur thrash the champions 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium, just a few weeks after they knocked them out of the Carabao Cup and kicked off their dismal run of results.

After the game, Guardiola admitted City are “fragile” in terms of how easy they are to play against.

Following this latest loss, a pundit and former Premier League player has shared his verdict on City’s current situation and what a key solution could be for them.

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Jamie Carragher discusses crucial Man City solution

On the subject of City’s disappointing run of form and how the club could get back on track, Jamie Carragher gave this assessment on Monday Night Football.

He said: “No, I wouldn’t use the word crisis. They’re still second in the Premier League. It’s an awful run. If it continues, I think we are talking like that, but I still think Manchester City can have a successful season.

“But the problems they’ve got in midfield, I’m not sure you can fix them with the personnel they’ve got right now.

“I think they would have to attack the transfer market in January, but that’s a problem for them because of the situation they find themselves in with the Premier League, and would that put players off coming in the middle of a season?

“The problems they’ve got right now in the centre of midfield are reminiscent of what Liverpool had a couple of years ago, when they had Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in that role, and the legs are just gone.

“We did some analysis on Monday Night Football about them getting done on the counter-attack, and that’s what’s happening to Manchester City right now. I think the age profile of the midfield is a problem.

“Rodri’s won the Ballon d’Or and he’s the best in the world in that position. But his replacements – Ilkay Gundogan well into his 30s and Kovacic who has turned 30 – haven’t got great pace.

“The other midfield players, more attacking midfield players, but Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, well into the 30s as well. So that’s a problem.

“No one can beat Father Time. As you get older, the sharpness, extra little bit of pace maybe comes away from you, and in that central midfield area, they’ve got a problem that, as we saw at Liverpool a couple of years ago, I don’t think those players can fix.

“Maybe Pep can come up with something a little bit tactical, a little bit different, which I think he did at the weekend, but it didn’t quite work. I think it’s new players he needs, rather than a new tactical blueprint.”

Which midfielders have City been linked with?

After Rodri suffered a season-ending injury back in September, Guardiola said City could sign a midfielder in January as a replacement for the Spaniard.

Having now seen his side lose five matches in a row, conceding 14 goals in the process, this should increase City’s need to add some midfield depth to their squad in January.

City’s midfield targets for January include the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Ederson Santos and Javi Guerra.

In addition to that, Samuele Ricci has also been mentioned as a possible target for City ahead of what could be a crucial winter transfer period for the club.

However, before the January transfer window opens, City have some huge Premier League and Champions League matches to get through.

While Guardiola and everyone else at the club will be desperate to see results go back to normal as soon as possible, if City continue to struggle, this should make it a certainty that the chequebook will be getting used in January to bring some new midfielders in.