Troy Deeney says one of the signings Manchester City have made this summer is a “massive piece of the puzzle” in terms of strengthening a key area of the team.
Manchester City have strengthened their squad considerably this summer as they look to reclaim the Premier League title from Liverpool.
The likes of Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and James Trafford, among others, have all come in to give Pep Guardiola more options.
Troy Deeney has now spoken about one of the signings City have made this summer, saying they’ve now filled in a “very important position”.
Troy Deeney says Manchester City’s signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri fills a ‘massive piece of the puzzle’
The player in question is Rayan Ait-Nouri, who was City’s first summer signing when he joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers for around £31million.
Deeney, speaking on talkSPORT’s Premier League All Access podcast, recalled how City have struggled at left-back in the past, and backed Ait-Nouri to be key.
“I do think Ait-Nouri at left back is a massive, massive piece of the puzzle that they’ve struggled with for a little while,” said Deeney.
“They’ve never really had a proper left back. They’ve tried Nathan Ake there. They’ve tried Gvardiol there. They’ve tried O’Reilly there. Very important position.”
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Wolves expert on what Manchester City fans can expect from Rayan Ait-Nouri
BBC Radio West Midlands’ Wolves correspondent Mike Taylor recently told Man City fans what they can expect from Ait-Nouri this season.
Taylor backed Ait-Nouri to potentially be a “very good” signing for City, as he may be able to express himself more in a stronger team than Wolves.
“The best of Ait-Nouri is his confidence carrying the ball at close quarters, and his keen running whenever afforded room,” said Taylor.
“His pace is obvious at all times, but crucially it is his pace with the ball that marks him out.
“The point of difference between an in-form Ait-Nouri and some of his type in the Premier League is where he runs to – directly, wherever possible.
“Ait-Nouri at his best was always more likely to try to beat a defender than avoid him, or merely pass the ball backwards.”
