Shay Given thinks Pep Guardiola has already added an element to his Manchester City squad that has been missing for years.
Manchester City are on a corrective course following last year’s disastrous season and anyone standing in their way is going to need a lot of help.
Pep Guardiola is determined to rebuild and revive his squad and is making sweeping changes to the makeup of the side.
Icon Kevin De Bruyne has already departed and the manager has made it clear that Jack Grealish is heading for the exit, too.
Guardiola wants to keep Matheus Nunes after initial uncertainty around his future but Kyle Walker, James McAtee and maybe even John Stones could all depart.
New signings have already been made, with Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki adding new verve to the side and impressing in the Club World Cup.
However, Rayan Ait-Nouri might be the pick of the bunch so far after his excellent displays.
Shay Given was impressed with Ait-Nouri’s performance in the 5-2 smashing of Juventus and believes he has finally brought long-lost balance back to the team.
Shay Given loves what Rayan Ait-Nouri is bringing to Manchester City
Speaking in the aftermath of the match, Given explained how left-back has been a ‘blind spot’ for City in recent years, but the position has finally been sorted with Ait-Nouri’s arrival.
He told DAZN: “It’s been a long time [since City had a dedicated left-back].”
“What he does bring, Ait-Nouri, is balance to the team.
“For Guardiola, last year at left-back, I think [Nathan] Ake played there at times before that, it was [Aleks] Zinchenko.
“It feels like City have had a real blind spot in the left-back position. Now with Ait-Nouri, you see the balance, there’s so much balance.
“There’s underlapping for the goal, for the last one, he’s overlapping.”
Ait-Nouri teed up the opener against Juventus with just eight minutes on the clock with a lovely throughball to scorer Jeremy Doku.
The pair appear to already have a great understanding, with Doku saying his connection with Ait-Nouri is strong.
Regarding the pair, Given added: “I think they both speak French, they’re building up a pairing.
“Let’s not forget, this is early doors, they’ve only had maybe 10 days of training.
“So this is only going to improve and get better and better, and I’m sure they’ll be defenders in this Club World Cup thinking, ‘I don’t fancy playing against them two’, because they’re very exciting and it looks like they’ve built that partnership up already.”
Callum Wilson explains Rayan Ait-Nouri and Jeremy Doku partnership
The match was only the first time Doku and Ait-Nouri have played together but fans are very excited about how they could develop in the season to come.
Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson explained how the new dynamic duo work in tandem.
“It’s a relationship that is going to be ongoing,” he said. “As we see here, the relationship is starting.
“Doku is picking up balls, Ait-Nouri is always in close proximity to him, they create triangles, and it’s important to get that relationship going.
“We saw last game, Ait-Nouri was the high, wide focal point, this time it was Doku. We thought, what’s Ait-Nouri going to be doing in terms of his positioning?
“As you can see here, it’s very narrow when Doku plays, but they’ve still got that connection, they’ve still got that relationship. What a finish to get himself on the scoresheet.
When asked about Ait-Nouri’s underlapping runs, Wilson went on: “It’s all about timing.
“It’s something they would have worked on on the training field, and he would know when Ait-Nouri has got time on the ball, don’t stand still, make a movement.
“When he’s getting pressed, he needs your feet to then play to. Even these simple little passes, playing to his feet, getting round him, helps him to cut inside and get space.”
