Pep Guardiola has masterminded his way to four Premier League titles and many argue he has changed the fabric of English football in the process.
His tactical nous has been clear for all to see at Manchester City, as it was at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. When he first arrived at the Etihad, some questioned whether his ethos would work in the Premier League.
Most notably, he brought in inverted full-backs during the early years of his tenure. This was mocked by some but those critics have since vanished.
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While his defensive tactics have been tinkered with during his time in England, he still asks his full-backs to tuck in when required. With Benjamin Mendy unavailable and Oleksandr Zinchenko tipped to leave, City are chasing Marc Cucurella of Brighton.
The left-back had a brilliant season on the south coast but could be off after only a year. Guardiola has tracked the Spaniard since he left Barcelona in 2020.
He has obviously seen something in the 23-year-old that has indicated he would be able to adapt to his defensive philosophy. Guardiola outlined why he likes his full-backs to remain centred when speaking to BT Sport in March 2021 after City beat Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League.
“It comes from Germany,” he said. “When you lose the ball they kill you on the counter-attack when our full-backs were wider.
“The main reason [I deploy the tactic] is to have more players in the middle to pass the ball. The main reason is to have more players – four, five, six players – to make short passes and [have] more control.
“We did it with Fabian Delph, through the year with 100 points, that was incredible. Zinchenko as well, and Joao [Cancelo] has this quality to do it.” His comments show what Cucurella can expect to be asked to do if he does sign for the Premier League champions - especially given his praise of Zinchenko, who he could be replacing this summer.
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