Manchester City are about to embark on their latest Premier League campaign under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
The Citizens ended their pre-season period with a morale-boosting victory over Manchester United in the Community Shield last weekend.
This Sunday will see the league champions take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for their opening fixture of the campaign.
However, Pep Guardiola’s squad will look slightly different to the one that secured a fourth consecutive league trophy, as numerous players have made moves in and out of the Etihad Stadium during this summer transfer window.
Now though, a pundit has made a claim about the state City currently find themselves in heading into the new season.
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Pundit says Julian Alvarez exit has made Man City weaker
While assessing the status of City’s current squad heading into the new season, Rob Mustoe had this to say on the matter during a recent edition of The 2 Robbies.
“Manchester City have sold Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid for a very big fee, around about £85m which, of course, could be used to strengthen that area.
“He had 11 Premier League goals last year and I know that there’s different players there that can come in and score, but that’s 11 goals that is going to need replacing.
“So you’ve got to say they’re a little weaker, they haven’t added anything, been very quiet in the market again, things could change so they, on the face of it, right now, as we sit down now, are a little weaker.”
City must decide if they want to sign a replacement for Alvarez
With Alvarez scoring 19 goals and providing 13 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions last season, this showcases how prominent and important he was for the team.
Therefore, it’s easy to see why Mustoe thinks City have made their squad weaker with the departure of the Argentine, who Guardiola revealed wanted a new challenge away from City, given his clear attacking talent.
However, with Savinho arriving at the club last month after scoring nine goals and delivering 10 assists in 37 La Liga games last season with Girona, he could replace some of the attacking prowess that Alvarez offered City.
Moving forward, with the summer transfer window set to close at the end of the month, the Citizens will have to come to a decision sooner rather than later about potentially looking to strengthen their attack with a new signing.
