Adrian Clarke looks at what Manchester City need to do in the summer transfer window to improve their squad.
Manchester City
For the past seven seasons, Ederson has been an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Man City side, but the Brazilian's performance levels have waned across the last two campaigns.
Ederson remains outstanding with his distribution, but he is saving far fewer shots than he used to. The City goalkeeper registered his lowest save percentage stats in the last two seasons, and he will be disappointed to have accrued only 10 clean sheets from his 33 starts in 2023/24.
| Ederson | Save % | Saves inside box % |
|---|---|---|
| First five seasons | 69.92 | 64.34 |
| Last two seasons | 63.22 | 57.50 |
This decline could prompt Guardiola to bring in a new No 1 this summer. Second choice Stefan Ortega excelled when used last season, but you sense the champions would look to sign an elite 'keeper should they enter the market.
It is a key position they may choose to upgrade.
Elsewhere, it is not easy to find too many faults with the make-up of City’s squad, but there is an argument to suggest they relied too heavily on an inspired Kevin De Bruyne during the run-in. The Belgian was in fine form, supplying 10 assists from only 15 starts, but at 32 years old, he will not be able to go on forever.
Phil Foden was also superb, and Bernardo Silva was largely excellent, but with Jack Grealish and Matheus Nunes both failing to fire, and Jeremy Doku only scoring three Premier League goals, you suspect Guardiola may consider reinforcing his group in the attacking midfielder or wide forward department.
City also rely heavily on Rodri staying fit. If the Spaniard is missing, their results suffer greatly. City’s average points tally per match drops from 2.6 to only 0.8 when the midfielder is absent.
Expect Man City to recruit a quality young defensive midfield talent who would initially be happy to stand in for the star man, allowing Rodri the occasional rest whenever he needs it.
Key positions to target: Goalkeeper, defensive midfield, attacking midfield
Ins and outs so far
| Player | Transfer Type | Club | Full Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Adam |  Released |
- | - |
| Jamal Marcus Baptiste | Released |
- | - |
(Last updated: 7 June)
