2023-07-07 18:02:45
ESPN7 de Jul, 2023, 13:57 Reading: 5 min.
Power teams in the Premier League catch up with midfield rebuilds
The domain of Manchester City in English and European football it has caused a change in the transfer policy of its main rivals. After seeing the team Pep Guardiola build their treble on the back of a formidable midfield, everyone else is now trying to sign midfielders.
In the Premier League, seven of the 10 biggest transfers so far this summer have been midfielders. That will be eight once Arsenal break the £100m barrier for the first time by completing their move for the club captain. West Ham, Declan Rice, in the coming days.
Pep Guardiola with Manchester CityGetty Images
He Liverpool has signed two media, Alexis Mac Allister del Brighton & Hove Albion and the Hungarian international RB Leipzig, Dominik SzoboszlaiMeanwhile he Manchester United has added to Mason Mount of the Chelsea to your template. He Tottenham Hotspur has closed an agreement for James Maddison of the Leicester City and the Newcastle United has begun preparing for its first campaign in the UEFA Champions League in 20 years by completing a club-record £55m move for the club playmaker AC Milan, Sandro Tonali.
It is not only in the Premier League where clubs are prioritizing such a specific recruitment. The biggest transfer anywhere this summer so far has been the £88m move from Real Madrid by Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmunda deal that might eventually be worth £114m with add-ons, hinting at the Spanish club’s determination to dethrone City as European champions.
Last year, the focus was on the strikers. He City completed the signing of Erling Haaland coming from Dortmund at the beginning of the summer window, but Arsenal (Gabriel Jesus), Liverpool (Darwin Nunez), Chelsea (Raheem Sterling), Manchester United (Antony), Spurs (Richarlison) and Newcastle (Alexander Isak) they all invested heavily in attacking players.
But while the 52 goals of Haaland in all competitions rightly attracted attention, the success of the City he relied on his midfield. Anyone who witnessed the 4-1 destruction in the Premier League del City over his closest rival, the Arsenalin April, will remember how the team of Guardiola he won the match by beating the Gunners in midfield. It was a similar story when the Real Madrid they were beaten 4–0 in the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Etihad three weeks later.
Guardiola had to Rodri acting like the best defensive midfielder in Europe, Kevin De Bruyne as an unrivaled box-to-box player with the ability to score and create, and Ilkay Gundogan proving equally effective in a defensive or forward role. John Stones finished the season as another prominent midfield option, with teenager Rico Lewis also performing well through the middle of the campaign, while Guardiola also featured Kalvin Phillips as a defensive midfielder, as well as the brilliance of Bernardo Silva in the attacking part of his midfield.
With such strength in midfield, it’s no surprise that the City end the season as a treble winner.
Dominik Szoboszlai was presented by LiverpoolGetty Images
All the great teams have relied on outstanding midfielders: the winners of the treble of the Manchester United in 1999, the “Invincibles” of Arsenal in 2004, the first team of the Chelsea of Jose Mourinhohe Barcelona of Guardiola con Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets and the axis of the midfield of the Real Madrid formed by Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiroand that is why the rest are now trying to catch up by reinforcing their midfield departments.
the march of Gundogan al Barcelona will weaken the City regardless of the qualities of his substitute, matthew kovacicso perhaps the search for midfielders will bring the race for the title of the Premier League the next season.
The coach of the Liverpool, Jurgen Kloppwanted to start his midfield rebuild 12 months ago, but the focus on forwards meant he was only able to sign the midfielder from the Juventus, Arthur Melo on loan, and that move turned out to be a dud due to the Brazilian’s injury history. (Arthur is gone, having played just 76 minutes for the Reds’ first team all season.) But the addition of MacAllister and Szoboszlai, with full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold also transitioning into a midfield role, means Liverpool have now addressed the need to reduce the age of their midfield.
James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain y Naby Keita gone, but the new faces, along with the seasoned bosses Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantarathey offer to Liverpool a much more compelling set of options.
He Arsenal he will also be stronger with Rice adding his power and energy to his midfield. Combining Rice and Martin Odegaardwith the experience of Jorginho and Thomas Parteyhe gives them to Arsenal the chance to make sure City don’t beat them in that department once more this season.
Manhester United will look to add another midfielder to Mount, who will bring tenacity, goals and versatility to Erik ten Hag’s midfield; the England international has already improved the team simply by coming from Stamford Bridge. And there is no doubt that Maddison and Tonali will raise the bar in the Spurs y Newcastlerespectively, in the coming months.
Chelsea is the big question mark, as they allowed Mount, Kovacic, N’Golo Kante y Ruben Loftus-Cheek move on with their career, but they’ve already started planning ahead with the British record £106.8m signing of Enzo Fernandez in January, in addition to the previous signings of Carney Chukwuemeka and Andrey Santos.
He City they are still the team to beat, but their rivals have identified where they fell short once morest the champions and have moved to address those shortcomings.
If he City would have won the race to sign Bellinghamwould have become even stronger, but the Real Madrid he beat them to the young Englishman and the Arsenal overcame his interest in Riceso there is hope for the chasing group because, like last season, the big trophies will be won by the team with the most consistent midfield.
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