Manchester City could end up signing two new left-backs this summer after, for a long time, it looked like none would arrive.
Plenty still has to happen in the next 22 days before the transfer window closes, although City are working on finding a replacement for Aleks Zinchenko, who joined Arsenal for £30m last month. The opening two games of the season have exposed City's need for a left-back, and despite Pep Guardiola's claims, it's clear that a new full-back will be necessary to improve the balance of a small squad.
The current situation doesn't only place pressure on Joao Cancelo, but reduces the competition for Kyle Walker, who has always been at his best with a quality player trying to take his place. So the fact that City are exploring the market for a left-back shows an awareness that the current squad dynamic isn't sustainable.
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City could sign Sergio Gomez of Anderlecht, an attacking left-back who scored or assisted 22 goals last season. However, despite reports to the contrary, he would be a development signing who would likely head out on loan. That's not to say he couldn't arrive and impress enough to be given a chance in the first team, but he's not currently earmarked as an immediate solution to the left-back vacancy.
Instead, City are looking for a more senior option, and would surely like to have a player signed before the transfer deadline. That player's role may be to push Cancelo on the left rather than replace him, although any first-team ready addition would instantly take the pressure off both Cancelo and Walker.
Guardiola admitted that both senior full-backs cannot play every game this season — even if their current status as the only two senior full-backs would suggest they may have to do so. The manager has namechecked Nathan Ake and Josh Wilson-Esbrand as cover options on the left, but that still wouldn't help Walker, whose only realistic competitor is Cancelo.
If a new left-back was signed, Cancelo could share his time across both flanks as he has done for the last three years, as well as getting appropriate rest when needed. Cancelo's breakdown of appearances for City shows s fairly equal split between the right and left sides of defence: 62 appearances at right-back, and 58 at left-back.
However, he was on the bench for the 2021 Champions League final, and the semi-final second leg before that. And in his time at the club, he has only started four games on the left against main rivals Liverpool, with just one at right-back. In the Community Shield last week, Cancelo's tendency to come inside was exposed by Mo Salah, and against West Ham both Cancelo and Walker inverted and were allowed to abandon their full-back positions for the majority of the game.
Cancelo is a supremely talented player, able to play in advanced tactical roles, although it's also fair to question his defending as a left-back against a right-footed winger who looks to attack him one-on-one. That is where Zinchenko found an avenue to get games, and one of the reasons why a different option is sensible.
Ake could offer some of that defensive stability, and is left-footed, but is less of a natural wide player, while Wilson-Esbrand is more likely to stick to the touchline but could leave space behind him if he ventures forward. Gomez could be an option in the future, if he signs, rather than an instant solution.
It shouldn't be seen as a slight on Cancelo if a new senior left-back does arrive, more so a challenge to keep improving and to earn his place. Guardiola has used competition for places and rotation as a key tactic in his trophy-filled six years at City, so going back to just two players in two key positions would take away a factor that has pushed Cancelo and Walker to new levels each year.
If it's fair to say both defenders have played key roles in City's last two Premier League title wins, and it's not an exaggeration to argue that City's title chances this could depend on signing a new full-back or two in the next three weeks. At the moment, they are one injury or bad run of form away from having a clear exploitable weakness in their starting line-up — just like in 2019/20.
At least having three full-backs would reintroduce some jeopardy to Walker and Cancelo, as well as easing the burden on them and offering some much-needed depth. It will provide them both with the atmosphere they need to continue to thrive, and boost City's title chances in the process. Now they have just three weeks to get a deal done.
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