Although Manchester City have picked things up domestically after a busy January transfer window with clean sheet wins over Newcastle and Tottenham – and an FA Cup victory over pesky underdogs Plymouth – their recent resounding defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool are a sobering reminder that the squad still needs an overall in order to return to the very summit it reached in 2023 as treble winners.
There are some big names in the Manchester City squad who were once among the world’s best but are now struggling to prove that they can still be key players for a team that aims to win the Premier League and Champions League. Here are three of them.
Kevin De Bruyne
It is sad to see how Kevin De Bruyne has fallen in 2024/25, as injuries have accelerated an inevitable decline that may not even be saved by a transition to a part-time role or a move further back in midfield as a regista.
The Saudi Pro League transfer rumors will continue to heat up with each passing game that De Bruyne fails to make an impact. Despite a few gaffes like this one, the technical ability and intelligence are obviously still there, but KDB plays too slow and that’s affecting Man City’s entire structure and especially the way they defend without Rodri to blanket him.
As sad as it would be to see De Bruyne leave Man City for, of all places, the Saudi Pro League, it may be the only way for City to cash in on the Belgian legend, and, as Pep Guardiola has said in the past, you need to be ruthless and constantly refresh the squad in order to stay on top.
Ilkay Gundogan
It should have been an immediate red flag to Manchester City that Barcelona, of all teams, were willing to get rid of Ilkay Gundogan just one season after signing him as a free agent when he was their most consistent star in the 2023/24 season.
Barcelona knew that Gundogan was at the end of his rope, and, well, Manchester City must have, too, in 2023 when they decided to let him go in free agency after winning the treble.
Signing Gundogan back was an even bigger free agent folly than Barca’s, because, simply put, Gundogan has fallen off a cliff this season. He was thoroughly embarrassed by Real Madrid in the second leg, reduced to a limb-hacking shell of his former self. Gundogan must go if Man City are serious about competing.
Bernardo Silva
Of these three players, Bernardo Silva has the most to give, since he has the motor and wherewithall to actually defend and progress play. But Silva is no longer the versatile, lunchpail midfielder and winger he was back in the day.
Now, he’s a fairly average player who makes a minimal impact in the final third with just two goals and four assists in the 2024/25 Premier League season. For his wages and the starting spot he claims in the squad, Silva isn’t better than his peers among top-four contenders in the Premier League and isn’t the caliber of player who should be starting for a hopeful champion.
At 30, Silva is younger than De Bruyne and Gundogan, but he is definitely on the wrong side of the age line when it comes to being a winger or a box-to-box midfielder. It’s better to move on a month too soon than a year too late.
