Manchester City may be at the end of a trophy-laden era, but it is clear that Pep Guardiola is looking ahead to the future in a bid to make sure this season is a one-off.
The Spaniard spent around £190m during the winter transfer window on strengthening his first-team squad, adding some much-needed freshness.
Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez all arrived at the Etihad, with three of the four players aged 23 or younger, as Guardiola has scoured the market for the very best young talent.
Marmoush is the outlier in this regard, but the club required another player who was capable of rivalling Erling Haaland and providing some extra potency to a Man City side who have won just 14 of their 29 Premier League matches so far this campaign.
Early signs are certainly promising, with the Egyptian star settling into life in Manchester easily, replicating his stunning form during the first half of the season for Eintracht Frankfurt which saw him net 20 goals in 25 games.
Omar Marmoush’s start at Manchester City
Haaland’s first two seasons at the club saw him score 90 goals across just 98 matches, winning two Premier League titles and the Champions League in the process.
A return of 29 goals this season is certainly respectable indeed, yet he did go through a spell of scoring only three goals in 13 league matches between the end of September and the start of 2025.
This coincided with City struggling in the top flight, losing six matches and falling behind in the race for the title.
Goals
4
Assists
0
Big chances created
3
Key passes per game
1.1
Successful dribbles per game
0.4
Shots per game
2
Signing Marmoush has given the side a major boost, with his positional flexibility giving Guardiola some options.
Indeed, across seven league matches, Marmoush has played in four positions, scoring four goals during this time.
After selling Julian Alvarez last summer to Atlético Madrid, City were poor in the first half of the season, relying on Haaland far too much.
The signing of the former Frankfurt star has taken the pressure off the Norwegian sensation and this partnership could shine throughout the 2025/26 season.
Losing Alvarez, however, has proven to be a massive mistake by Guardiola.
Why Julian Alvarez left Manchester City
Despite his incredible talent, Alvarez was often fighting it out with Haaland for a place in the starting XI. During the 2022/23 season, only 23 of his 49 appearances came from the start, finding the back of the net 17 times.
The 2023/24 season was much better, with a tally of 19 goals and 13 assists coming from 53 games as City retained the Premier League title.
He was an excellent option for Guardiola to call upon, but rumours surfaced last summer regarding his future at the club, with the City boss revealing that the player had asked to leave in search of “a new challenge”.
Having signed the 2022 World Cup winner for just £14m in January 2022, City sold the forward to Atlético Madrid for a fee in the region of £81.5m, representing a club-record sale.
The deal was certainly profitable, but if Haaland suffered a long-term injury, the manager wouldn’t have a recognised centre-forward in the squad ready to deputise.
While City limped through the opening six months of the season, Alvarez has been enjoying life in Madrid, registering 28 goal contributions – 23 goals and five assists – so far across all competitions.
Could the manager already be brewing his next Alvarez at City?
Man City could already have their next Alvarez
Like the move to bring Alvarez to England, Guardiola paid River Plate a fee of around £12.5m to secure the services of the extremely talented teenager, Claudio Echeverri, in January 2024.
He would remain at his club until January this year when he finally moved to England, and he could follow in the footsteps of Alvarez, perhaps turning out even better than the 25-year-old.
Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, Echeverri played 41 matches for River Plate, scoring four goals and recording six assists in the process, coming close to leading his side to the final of the Copa Libertadores in November last year.
His best displays came during the U20 CONMEBOL Championship, which took place in January and February this year.
The midfielder started seven of his nine games for Argentina, scoring six goals, grabbing three assists and creating two big chances for his nation as they reached the final of the competition.
The 19-year-old also succeeded with 1.6 dribbles per game, recovered 1.8 balls per match and scored every 98 minutes, showcasing his talent during the tournament.
While Argentina may not have won, Guardiola will have been keeping a close watch on the teenager throughout the competition, and he will surely make his bow for City sooner rather than later.
Analyst Ben Mattinson profiled the midfielder upon his signing for Man City at the start of 2024 saying:
“Another future superstar, this time went for an absolute bargain. Echeverri’s ball-carrying and dribbling prowess will no doubt be a huge asset for Man City in the future. In the meantime, he’ll develop on loan.”
Remaining in his homeland for another year has only aided his development, as it was unlikely the teenager would get into the City midfield towards the end of last season.
Having starred at the South American Youth Championship last month, it might finally be time for Guardiola to start bleeding Echeverri over the coming months.
With the Club World Championships taking place this summer, might this be an ideal time to give the 19-year-old some game time? Especially with the tournament ranking low in terms of importance for City.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
He could be the future of the club, no doubt about that, and Guardiola could soon forget all about Alvarez once the former River Plate sensation gets going at the Etihad. That’s a certainty.
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