Can Manchester City make a success of this season?
The Sky Blues are on the brink of Champions League elimination, following Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, in which the holders scored not once but twice at the death to snatch victory at the Etihad.
So, having reached at least the Champions League quarter-finals in each of the last seven seasons, the Citizens must win at the Bernabéu next Wednesday to avoid their earliest European exit for 12 years.
Meantime, considering Pep Guardiola’s team are fifth in the Premier League, facing a crucial clash with Newcastle on Saturday, they’re in danger of missing out on next season’s Champions League all together, but could the introduction of a youngster help salvage this season?
Brahim Díaz's Man City return
As is so often the case, a player came back to haunt his former club at the Etihad on Tuesday, although this scenario was pretty unique.
Mere moments after being introduced as a substitute, Brahim Díaz slotted home Real Madrid’s equaliser, which kick-started los Blancos’ trademark, and seemingly inevitable, remontada.
However, former Manchester United, Wimbledon and Coventry forward Terry Gibson, speaking on the La Liga weekly podcast, described Díaz’s decision not to celebrate his goal as “bizarre”, suggesting the majority of supporters inside the stadium would not have known who he was.
Meantime, speaking on the Guardian Football Weekly, Max Rushden thought it was particularly amusing that the 25-year-old refused to celebrate his own goal, only to “strut around like a peacock” in celebration after Jude Bellingham had poked home the winner five minutes later.
The context is that, despite being on Man City’s books for four years, the Morocco international made just 15 senior appearances, totaling a mere 415 minutes, all four of his starts for the club coming in the Carabao Cup, before joining Madrid for a reported £15.5m in 2019.
Díaz is yet to establish himself as a regular at Madrid either, 16 of his 30 appearances this season have come as a substitute, although Graham Ruthven of Total Soccer Show believes he is under-utilised by Carlo Ancelotti noting, when he is given an opportunity, he adds “cohesion” to Madrid’s often chaotic forward-line.
So, while many Man City onlookers may feel they made a mistake letting him go, they may actually have an even more talented attacking midfielder sitting on their bench waiting to be unleashed.
Man City's next midfield superstar
During the January transfer window, Florian Plettenberg and Patrick Berge of Sky Sports Deutschland reported that Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen were attempting to sign James McAtee.
However, this move did not come to fruition because, as James Ducker of the Telegraph noted, the proposal was rejected by Man City, mainly because Guardiola “made it clear” he had no intention of letting McAtee leave.
His manager had previously described McAtee as “special”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled him a “top talent”, praising his “electric pace”, dribbling ability and “above-average decision-making in the final third”.
Despite these rave reviews, the 22-year-old has seen just 597 minutes of action this season, bagging a hat-trick against Salford in the FA Cup and then his first Premier League goal for the club at Ipswich a week later, but Sam Lee of The Athletic reports that he remains frustrated by his “limited opportunities”.
McAtee joined the Citizens’ academy at the age of 11, spending the previous two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, helping the Blades gain promotion from the EFL Championship in 2023, before a rather miserable relegation campaign last time round.
Nevertheless, he still scored 14 goals in 75 appearances in South Yorkshire, his first-ever Premier League goal a stunning winner against Brentford in December 2023.
Díaz meantime, was never loaned out before departing Man City for Real Madrid, so let’s assess how their careers in Sky Blue compare.
Statistics
McAtee
Díaz
Appearances
23
15
Minutes
715
415
Starts
5
4
Times an unused substitute
44
11
Goals
5
2
Assists
0
0
Minutes per goal
143
208
The Englishman, who is admittedly three years older than the Moroccan was when he departed, has been given more opportunities in the first team, but not an exponentially greater amount.
All his five goals for the club have come this season, on target during routs against Slovan Bratislava, Salford and Ipswich.
However, the most telling statistic in the table above is the fact McAtee has been an unused substitute 44 times, half of which have come this season, which must be demoralising if nothing else, so you can understand why he may push for a move, following in Díaz’s footsteps by departing for one of the world’s biggest clubs.
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