It was inevitable, but many Leicester fans knew that Riyad Mahrez leaving for the Etihad was only a matter of time.
In the least surprising news of the English transfer window, defending Premier League winners Manchester City got another talented midfielder into their already-impressive pool of midfield stars. This only means that his inclusion will make the prospect of completing a treble for the Sky Blues a real possibility.
Fans are already salivating at the prospect of their team dominating England and the rest of Europe, but the football news is just focused on the now. And the mere fact that Manchester City got another monster of a player to don their shirt is a telling news for the coming season.
It will be interesting to see how Manchester City will be able to use the star midfielder into their league games. It will also be intriguing to see how he will operate with the Citizens in their European excursions.
Joining a team of quality men
There’s no secret that the oil money brought in by Sheikh Mansour has brought in a lot of quality to the club, with ten of Manchester City’s all-time top signings coming in after his ownership group’s acquisition of the Premier League side. Players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Aymeric Laporte, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero were acquired in big-money moves.
Thanks to all of these acquisitions, they are now standing atop the Premier League while making history in the process. They have quality players from the goal post to the front, and Mahrez will feel a bit weird not being the biggest fish in the pond the same way he was when he was with the Foxes at Leicester.
There is already a lot of talent in City’s midfield. There’s already the bright midfield duo of De Bruyne and David Silva, and the pair combines for 17 goals and 27 assists in the past Premier League campaign. Sterling and Leroy Sane, the players he will be most likely competing with for starting positions, also brought a lot of positive Manchester City results, chipping in goals and assists for the side.
One noticeable difference that Mahrez will experience while donning the Manchester City kit is the stability of their defence. In Leicester, he had to make do with a defence that did manage to win the Premier League title in 2016 but now struggle to consistently keep clean sheets after the departure of super midfielder and now-World Cup champion N’Golo Kante.
Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi will be leading a defence that allows the attackers to just focus on making plays on the offensive front. This will allow Mahrez, who has gotten 12 goals and 10 assists for a struggling Leicester side, to focus on being creative and find goals for his new club.
Mahrez v Sterling: A preview
While I did say that Sterling and Sane will be Mahrez’s main competition for a starting spot, he will most likely be competing with the England international for a spot in the starting XI.
He enjoyed a brilliant campaign in Russia, getting a single goal in 456 minutes on the pitch while playing for an England team that made an entire nation fall in love with the beautiful game in a new light. He’s found more success with the Manchester City side. The man who came in for £44 million scored 18 goals and got 11 assists while playing for the Citizens.
It can be said that they play very similar styles on the right, attracting the ball and getting results with beautiful wing play. While there are still Champions League and the FA Cup to consider, it’s not hard to see why Guardiola will have a difficult time choosing between the two stars.
Existing in interesting situations
If we look at the formations Leicester city used in the season, Mahrez was primarily used on the right. Since he was the best player on an otherwise mediocre team, he will see a remarkable difference in the way he will be used with City.
Manchester City used the 4-3-3 the most during their historic campaign and will likely not fix whatever was broken. However, one big difference he will find is that he won’t have the ball as much during his time at the King Power Stadium.
The ball will be coming from passes from either De Bruyne or Silva. He will find that the gravitas of the two playmakers will allow him to not force the issue too often and just run to the place where they make a pass.
The other formations City use are 3-1-4-2 and 3-5-2. These formations usually have wingbacks that run through the middle so it’s possible that Mahrez won’t be suiting up. These formations aren’t usually regularly, however, so he won’t have to force the issue.
With Mahrez set to join City in the club’s pre-season tour, he will be able to strut his stuff in front of Guardiola. If he wants to step out of the Etihad tunnel in every game, he will have to impress in this preseason tour.
You can say that life will be finally interesting for Mahrez. He has finally gone for a club that will constantly compete domestically and in Europe, and it will be up to him to prove that the historic fees the club paid are worth it.
You can count on SBOBET to keep a close eye on how Mahrez will perform for his new home throughout the season.
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