Football: Why City Paid £57m for Kyle Walker

Manchester City has just paid £57m for Kyle Walker, making the former Spurs man the most expensive English footballer ever, and the most valuable defender in world football. Mail on Sunday commentator Oliver Holt says the signing was “the moment we all knew the Premier League had lost its mind.”

Worth it?

Has City got it wrong? Spurs fans don’t seem too upset to be losing Walker after 150 games for their club but they probably should be. Let me explain why despite that amazing price tag this could be one of the best transfers possible for Manchester City.

City conceded an astonishing 39 goals last season, 13 more than second-placed Spurs. Pep Guardiola tried 12 different combinations in defence throughout the season, proving that the ex-Barcelona manager wasn’t keen on his defensive options. It is well known that Guardiola likes a full-back who can get forward and cause some damage in attack.

As a result his primary target was Dani Alves but the Juventus man opted for Paris Saint-German instead. Having played four at the back for most of last season, City is likely to deploy the same formation in the upcoming campaign, which is where the signing of Walker comes in.

At Barcelona, Guardiola often left Gerard Pique at the back on his own in a one-on-one situation against a striker, relying on his quick full-backs to track back and provide support which the Sky Blues didn’t do well enough. Signing the second-quickest defender in the Premier League gives hope to City fans that the Spanish manager is looking to recreate the old Barcelona, an idea that was further cemented by the signing of Bernardo Silva.

Walker has a tendency to get forward and make overlapping runs beyond the winger who is playing in front of him, and with City’s wide men having a habit of cutting inside, that will allow the Englishman to provide the width the team lacked last season.

I expect the three-time Premier League champions to play in a 4-2-3-1 formation with David Silva and Bernardo Silva playing as two narrow midfielders on the right and left sides forcing the full-backs to provide support. Aside from a goalkeeper, who City has just signed, a right-back was the only thing really required to make it solid title favourites and with Ilkay Gundogan returning from a long-term injury spell, Guardiola now has the right players to make his side comfortable title contenders.

A Good Signing?

Walker will be one of the most useful signings City will make this transfer window. The team badly lacked width last season and came across as very one-dimensional, allowing smaller teams to put men behind the ball and shut them out. With Walker on one side and Aleksandar Kolarov on the other, Guardiola has two full-backs who are dangerous in the final third. Benjamin Mendy is now likely to join the Manchester club, a signing that would be the final piece in the jigsaw and would certainly make them title favourites.

 

by Nubaid Haroon  YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCtMg-fWm7awR41vM1GhVOkA  Twitter: twitter.com/rambofyi

 

The post Football: Why City Paid £57m for Kyle Walker appeared first on Felix Magazine.