Refusing to Buy Defensive Cover in January Would Be Negligence That Will Cost Manchester City the Title

Refusing to Buy Defensive Cover in January Would Be Negligence That Will Cost Manchester City the Title Hugo Viana and co must strengthen Manchester City's backline in January. Since a 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium in October, players such as Marc Guehi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Josko Gvardiol have struggled immensely, be it because of a lack of confidence or the concerning selection choices that Maresca is making far too often. The 46-year-old, having started life as Pep Guardiola’s successor perfectly with eight consecutive wins, has been subjected to intense scrutiny ahead of the November international break, mainly because of his tactical structure against Nottingham Forest . City lost 3-1 after Liam Delap twice capitalised on poor defending following Jair Cunha’s opening goal just six minutes into the contest at the City Ground. All three goals came from errors that were caused by Maresca’s decision to leave Elliot Anderson stranded deep in midfield, and at the same time, Enzo Fernandez was ordered to play higher up, in closer proximity to Rayan Cherki. It was a game in agonising need for someone like Ayyoub Bouaddi. The defeat was humbling in that Forest, who hadn’t scored a goal at home for 167 days, managed to claim victory and pile vast confusion amongst City supporters, who saw their side drop into third in the Premier League table behind leaders Arsenal and second-placed Brighton and Hove Albion . A drop in form has drawn a scroll of questions that need to be answered in the coming weeks if Maresca wants to regain belief in his side, and so too to receive backing from Manchester City supporters. So what’s the fix? Even in their struggles to put the ball into the back of the net at the top of the pitch, it’s clear that the main focus in the January transfer window for sporting director Hugo Viana and Maresca must be defenders. Shortly after completing the signing of Fernandez for a joint-British record fee of £125 million from Chelsea , Maresca said that the Argentine is “unbelievable around the box” , and it seems the Italian wants to play him higher up the pitch. This theory has led to reasonable anger as to why Maresca insists on playing him alongside Anderson in midfield, who, despite his unbelievable talent and work rate, simply cannot keep up with one, two, or three players attacking his box at once. These leaky defensive performances won’t fix themselves, but it would be naive to predict that Maresca is too stubborn to change his ways. The manager has found success at Leicester City and Chelsea, and will want to mirror that on a large scale, perhaps, in east Manchester. In some ways, Maresca needs to look at the 2024-25 season under Guardiola to realise that splashing big money on defenders may be more of a necessity than it is a desire. There are reasons why this is the case: a growing injury list. The example of Rodri and his horrible anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - and the cumulative fatigue and domestic drop-off that Maresca will likely experience in a few months. Guardiola’s worst-ever season at the Etihad Stadium didn’t come as a result of poor management but more so from events that he simply couldn’t control, such as the cascade of injuries that sunk his team to third in the Premier League on 71 points. It was a season defined by breaking all the wrong records, with historic highs in negative categories and historic lows in the positive ones. Not only did Guardiola yield his lowest points tally in the largely successful decade he spent in the North West, but the 2024-25 campaign also saw his side concede 44 goals, when in previous seasons, it averaged the low 30s. Part of the problem, or you could even say the nucleus of the crisis, came from injuries. And the most important one was Rodri’s ACL tear against Arsenal in September 2024. No City fan will forget that day for a long, long time. The Ballon d’Or winner, who had to use crutches to claim the award just a few months into his rehabilitation, underwent surgery and was sidelined for nine months. Indeed, the injury came from a sudden movement and twist of Rodri’s knee, but the demanding schedule had its effects elsewhere across the entire Manchester City  squad. So damning was the increase in fixtures and the demand for football to be played that, by the end of the season, it was possible to collate a squad of City players who had missed nine or more games through injury, including John Stones, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland. Plenty of injuries came in defence for City, with Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake also part of that injury list, and with similar, or more, games to be played this season, Maresca needs to brace for the worst possible scenario. In fact, it has already started. Gvardiol was substituted in the Forest defeat due to concerns about an injury before playing against England at Wembley Stadium on Thursday evening, while Guehi withdrew from the squad earlier in the week as he seeks medical attention for a hip problem. With only Vitor Reis, Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov as Maresca’s remaining centre-backs, it makes for an incredibly unstable period for the club, whose defensive line could struggle against the better teams in the league. Between now and New Year, Manchester City will face Arsenal, Napoli, Barcelona and Chelsea as part of a run of games that will identify whether Maresca needs to consider a defensive overhaul in January or not. Yet, around a similar time in the 2024-25 season as now, City fans were forced to endure a 13-game run that saw their side win only once and suffer heavy defeats to Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP and, memorably, squander a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord before drawing the game in the UEFA Champions League. The cause? Injuries. Although he was away from the club during this period, it’s important that Maresca puts himself in Guardiola shoes for a moment and learns from the mistakes made in not signing adequate defensive back-up in the summer before. Matheus Nunes is a strong and reliable option at right-back and shouldn’t need any back-up due to Khusanov being there and fit. Where alarm bells ring, however, is the centre and left side of defence. Gvardiol has fallen flat this season despite making a great start to life at City, and although Nico O’Reilly is a hugely talented player, he suits a more advanced role, perhaps alongside Anderson in midfield, much better. Rayan Ait-Nouri’s City career is all but done. Perhaps not the best pick, but Tino Livramento, who has played on the left side for Newcastle United and England, would be an incredible signing if his unattractive injury history could be mended. And the same goes for Lewis Hall, though with a contract running until 2031, it is almost guaranteed that he won’t leave Newcastle, and if he did, it would require a substantial financial commitment from City. In the centre of defence, Guehi and Dias have built a solid foundation in their partnership, but with Dias likely to leave in a few seasons, it is best that City eye a replacement as soon as they can. Against City, Forest’s Murillo delivered a remarkable performance, and the Brazilian possesses the physicality that City miss. For all his qualities, his required departure from Forest would be nearly impossible to achieve despite Viana’s strong track record of negotiating complicated transfers. Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan and Nico Schlotterbeck are two other physical, experienced and reliable choices, but it all comes down to whether Maresca sees value in signing defensive reinforcements. Until then, the City backline remains a work in progress.