Manchester City yesterday confirmed that Txiki Begiristain would depart the club at the end of the season. His replacement as the director of football at Manchester City will be Hugo Viana. The former Sporting Lisbon director will walk into one of the most coveted roles in world football. His arrival will also usher in a new era at the world champions. There will be no shortage of work for Viana to work away at when he arrives at the club. But for me, his biggest priority will be to oversee the rebuild of Manchester City’s midfield.
A quick look at Manchester City’s midfield for this season shows that it is an older group. Players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are all 30 years of age or older. In the cases of De Bruyne, Bernardo and Ilkay Gundogan they have been warriors for the club over a prolonged period. Father Time waits for no one and at some point the quartet previously mentioned will need to be replaced. Manchester City are typically good at staying ahead of the curve. The first job for Hugo Viana will be to maintain this trait is maintained by the world champions.
But finding players to replace Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic will be no easy task. Each player still has a key role to play for Pep Guardiola. How Viana goes about replacing them whether it is all four at once or one of two of them next summer will be fascinating to watch unfold. Whoever comes into City’s midfield next summer must also gel well with Rodri, Phil Foden and Rico Lewis. That trio, alongside James McAtee, look to be the future of City’s midfield. There also could be the unenviable task of finding a midfielder to provide support for Rodri on the to-do list next summer. But that appears to be a pressing item to be completed in January rather than next summer.
Hugo Viana will have big shoes to fill when he begins work at Manchester City next summer. His most pressing need in the transfer market appears to be how to rebuild City’s engine room. If he can manage that in his first transfer window at the club it will set him and Manchester City up well for the future.
