Manchester City now find themselves deep in a purple patch of positive form in the Premier League with Pep Guardiola’s bruised side unbeaten through April to date.
City’s latest victory saw them overcome David Moyes’ determined Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday, meaning their grip on a place inside the coveted Champions League spots is strengthened even more all the way up in fourth position.
Yet, Guardiola will be all too aware that a rebuild is still needed this coming summer with his team largely underperforming for the majority of the season, with a statement move allegedly in the works to land this sensational midfield star.
Man City preparing to bid for "the best midfielder in the world"
City kickstarted the rebuild in January by signing the likes of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez but with the possibility of players like Kevin De Bruyne exiting, Guardiola will need even more fresh faces in the squad.
Transfer Focus
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Well, as per reports from Spain, the reigning Premier League champions are preparing to ‘break the market’ to land Barcelona ace Pedri with a staggering £170m bid being prepared.
Indeed, the report states that City are looking at alternative targets away from Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz who could be set to stay in Germany over relocating to England, leading them down this new expensive avenue where a record-breaking move could come to fruition.
Of course, this will be a challenging deal to get over the line, but Guardiola and Co would be able to send shockwaves through the Premier League if the 21-year-old was to leave Catalonia behind for a top-flight adventure elsewhere.
Once heralded as “the best CM in the world” by football analyst Ben Mattinson, Pedri’s unbelievable arrival would undoubtedly improve City centrally, with the 30-time Spain international a big improvement on an ever-waning Ilkay Gundogan.
How Pedri is better than Gundogan
Much like the revered De Bruyne, Gundogan has shown off his obvious class in the top-flight previously for the Citizens, with 62 goals and 42 assists notched up from a bumper 348 appearances.
But, only seven goal contributions have come the ageing German’s way this season across 44 appearances, with a new ace arguably needed in the middle of the park at the Etihad with Gundogan no longer at his vibrant best, alongside De Bruyne exiting Manchester shortly.
This is where the elegance of City’s potential new £170m man could come in handy, with the Spaniard’s “transcendent” game in the midfield areas at the Camp Nou – as he was once lauded by ex-Barca great Xavi – aiding his side’s progression in the Champions League this campaign.
Two of Pedri’s 12 goal contributions for the season have come in the illustrious competition, with the much-talked-about 22-year-old also boasting four goals and four assists in La Liga action this season to trump Gundogan’s unconvincing five assists and zero goal haul in the Premier League.
Shot-creating actions
4.53
3.61
Attempted passes
78.87
77.57
Pass completion %
87.5%
90.2%
Progressive passes
10.14
6.34
Progressive carries
2.32
2.51
Successful take-ons
1.23
0.73
Touches in attacking penalty area
1.57
2.85
Progressive passes received
3.87
3.74
Looking at the table above, whilst Gundogan does have the better of Pedri in terms of pass completion statistics, it appears that the Barca number eight plays with a lot more intent and purpose than his former Borussia Dortmund counterpart when roaming forward, with a high 10.14 progressive passes averaged per contest across the last year.
This alone would be music to the ears of the likes of Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland back in Manchester, knowing that Pedri could unlock a defence at a moment’s notice with a killer pass.
With Pedri also noted as being similar to Bernardo Silva’s wonderful game at the Etihad, according to FBref, this feels like a switch that would allow City to enter into a new chapter with confidence sky-high, even if that comes at a cost of having to wave goodbye to esteemed servants such as Gundogan.
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