This season has seen a refreshed Manchester City squad, with a roster of players that has been in flux so far to start the season.
One of the major changes to the squad of defending champions Manchester City this year was the introduction of Norwegian striker Håland, who they brought in for a whopping €75 million. City are rumored to have spent a total of €100 million for Håland, who is regarded as the most promising striker in his age group.
With the signing of Håland, Sterling and Jesus have made the decision to leave. City have made it clear that they will use Håland as their main striker in the 22/23 season. As a result, Sterling and Jesus' playing time will be drastically reduced. Although both players are still young - Sterling is 27 and Jesus is 25 - they also need game time to fight for a starting striker position in their respective national teams.Håland's arrival made it impossible for them to remain at City, with Sterling moving to Chelsea and Jesus joining Arsenal.
City's release of Sterling and Jesus also shows the importance they place on Håland, who arrives confirmed as a starter, but there is a risk as any player arriving in a new league faces adjustment issues, and it remains to be seen how Håland will fare in the Premier League once the season starts.
In the midfield, City veteran Fernandinho returned to the Brazilian league after ending his Premier League career at the age of 37 after 9 years with City. City's midfield depth has not diminished with the acquisition of 26-year-old Kalvin Phillips from Ritz United, an aggressive back who has a wide midfield range, is good at tackling, and is aggressive, the kind of attacking back who dares to pass forward boldly. He plays for Ritz United who are known for their strong attacking play, a very different style to City's midfielder Rodri, and Guardiola may still need to make adjustments to him, hence why we didn't see him on the pitch in last week's Community Shield game.
In the backline, City did not bring in any new players. With Zinchenko joining Arsenal, veteran Fernandinho, who might have replaced him, has also left the team. Currently, City rotate four positions with six defenders, which is obviously very tight. Ake started in the Community Shield game, but his performance could only be described as average. In the wingbacks, 32-year-old Kyle Walker was injured a lot last year, and City's wingbacks are very weak at the moment. There are also problems in the center back section, Stone suffered a long injury last year, and Laporte is not perfect in high-intensity games. The back line could be a hidden problem for City this season, but with nearly a month to go until the transfer window closes this year, I think it's clear that City will be buying defenders again.
In last week's Community Shield match, Manchester City showed excellent ball control. Although Liverpool won in the end, the chances created by City were quite good in the first half and the whole game. After Guardiola made a substitution in the second half, bringing on Foden and Álvarez, they quickly scored. In this game, we can see that Liverpool played with all their main players, while Man City had a lot of rotating players in the midfield and front, and throughout the season, Man City had a clear advantage in manpower in the midfield and front.
In the Community Shield game, Håland was relatively flat, not pulling towards the wings and playing less with his teammates, mostly waiting for chances in the box. Liverpool defended him very tightly, and with a lot of numbers in the box, Håland didn't have many chances on goal. This could be due to Guardiola's intention to hide him, or it could be because Håland's adjustment is not yet complete.
A quick goal was scored by substitute Álvarez, who is 22 years old, Argentinean, 170 in height, and the type of player who pushes forward and shoots quickly. The goal in the Community Shield was in the same style as when he played for River Plate in Argentina. However, he's agile and City may bring him in not just for his scoring ability, but also for his ability to move around the box. Álvarez may not have had much of a chance yet this year with City's manpower up front, but he should come on as a regular substitute to grab points.
Aside from Håland and De Bruyne, I think Foden is a major player to watch for City this year. Now 22 years old, Foden is only 171 tall, but is already City's main attacker. Whether it's his explosiveness, his destructive power in the box, or his skill and speed in shooting, he has become a killer presence for City and even the EPL. In the Community Shield, we saw him able to take a direct 45-degree cross from either wing at high speed and immediately threaten the goalkeeper. If Håland has a big breakout game, Foden may still have a supporting role, but if Håland doesn't perform as well as expected, Foden will likely take over as the main attacker.
