Manchester City look set to wave goodbye to one of their key attacking players.
Earlier this week, it was reported that City have agreed a deal with Atletico Madrid to sell Julian Alvarez for €95m (£81m).
With Savinho being the only new face to arrive at the Etihad Stadium in this summer transfer window, some details have now emerged regarding what Pep Guardiola’s plan could be if the club don’t end up bringing in a replacement for the Argentine.
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Pep Guardiola could end up using Kevin De Bruyne up front after Julian Alvarez exit
A recent report from The Times had this to say on the matter.
It said: “Guardiola will decide whether to sign a replacement for Alvarez, who scored 19 goals last season, after the first few games of the campaign.
“Only then will he know whether he has enough players in reserve to make up for the absence of the Argentinian.
“If City do not sign a replacement, when [Erling] Haaland is missing from the line-up they will likely switch to a false No 9 system and deploy one of their attackers, such as Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva or Kevin De Bruyne, up front.”
The report then added these comments from Guardiola he shared in a recent press conference about the possibility of City signing a new
He said: “I said in other years, no chance [of new signings] but this season maybe it is going to happen. I am very pleased with the squad but maybe we have to add someone.”
De Bruyne would suit a false-nine role
City paid £54m to sign the Belgian back in the 2015 summer transfer window.
Since then, the 33-year-old has found the back of the net 102 times and provided 170 assists in 382 appearances across all competitions.
Despite playing the majority of his City games and delivering most of his goal contributions from midfield, De Bruyne has occasionally played in a more advanced role.
Specifically, he has made 13 appearances in a centre-forward role for the Citizens, scoring eight goals and supplying two assists along the way.
This shows how effective he could be if Guardiola ends up needing to use him in a false-nine role this season.
