Glenn Murray has questioned Manchester City’s transfer business during the previous summer window.
After winning the Treble at the end of last season, the Manchester club saw numerous players make moves in and out of the Etihad Stadium.
With Pep Guardiola’s side having failed to win any of their four previous league games, one pundit and former top-flight player has shared his thoughts about the club’s summer business and how it has impact their season.
Murray questions City transfers
Speaking in a recent episode of Football Daily, Murray had this to say about why City may have hit a blip in terms of dropping points.
He said: “I think you’ve got to take into consideration as well the exits of Manchester City over the summer.
“[Ilkay] Gundogan, who was pivotal in everything they achieved. [Riyad] Mahrez, [Cole] Palmer, [Aymeric] Laporte, [Joao] Cancelo. I know Cancelo was a bit-part [player] last season but even so, they are five or four, we’ll say that Palmer was up and coming, but four top, top quality Premier League players.
“And he’s replaced them with [Josko] Gvardiol, [Matheus] Nunes, [Jeremy] Doku and [Mateo] Kovacic, and, for me, even though they are very good football players in their own right, they are not on the same level as the ones they let go.”
Given the amount of quality and experience the club let go of in the summer and only brought in four new players, two of which are at the age of 21 and hadn’t played in England before, there was always going to be some sort of teething issues in terms of getting the team to gel together on the pitch.
With City having Kevin De Bruyne out injured since August and seeing Rodri miss some games through suspensions, this also highlights the difficulties the Citizens have had to deal with this season.
While Murray’s point about the significant squad changes is relevant, we feel that the real verdict on this particular matter shouldn’t be made until the end of the season when the new players have had a full campaign under their belts.
