Several of Man City’s stars have struggled throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
Erling Haaland has admitted that he has not been good enough, while players such as Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden may also say the same about their campaigns for the most part.
Pep Guardiola has found solutions in recent weeks as Man City are currently on a run of nine games unbeaten, which is a good sign heading into the 2025/26 season.
Gary Neville believes the Manchester club will make that ten against Southampton on Saturday, and ahead of the contest, Guardiola has made public who he thinks City’s most important player has been this season.
Josko Gvardiol has been Man City’s most important player
Whether it has been a left-back or centre-back, Josko Gvardiol has been a key player for Man City this season across the 49 games he has featured in.
The Croatian star has been a rock at the back for City and in addition to this, the 23-year-old has produced at the other end, as he is the highest-scoring defender in the Premier League with five goals.
Speaking ahead of Man City’s clash with Southampton, Guardiola told the press that he thinks Gvardiol has been the most important player in his squad, praising the defender for his contribution to City’s results.
“I think Josko has been our most important player this season. Without Josko, it would be impossible to sustain; he has been reliable to play every three days during eleven months, in the good and bad moments. Josko has been top.”
Man City fans praised Gvardiol for his performance against Wolves after he made a crucial block on the line, which helped the Manchester club secure a 1-0 win.
Many City fans will not disagree with Guardiola’s statement, although Jamie Carragher believes Erling Haaland has been Man City’s best performer throughout the current campaign.
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Has Josko Gvardiol been better than Erling Haaland for Man City
Gvardiol has been a top signing for Man City ever since making the £77.6m move from RB Leipzig during the summer of 2023, with this season showing why the Manchester club paid so much money for the centre-back.
The Croatian has been exceptional for Guardiola throughout the 2024/25 campaign as he has played wherever he has been asked, has never been injured, and most importantly, the 23-year-old has performed.
Although he has 30 goals to his name, Haaland has struggled at Man City for the majority of this season, hence why the Norwegian star himself stated that he has not been good enough.
In previous seasons, the striker has made his presence felt on the pitch in nearly every game, which has not been the case this term. The 24-year-old has often been anonymous in matches, which is why many would put Gvardiol ahead of the Norway international when it comes to Player of the Season.
