Manchester City are the defending champions of the Premier League and Champions League, and they are the favorites to repeat as the winners of both competitions in 2023/24.
The Citizens are in the thick of the Premier League title race, battling familiar foes Arsenal and Liverpool for the crown this season. And in the Champions League, Man City are facing another familiar opponent in Real Madrid, whom they drew 3-3 in a firecracker to open the proceedings at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Manchester City have a who’s who of the world’s best players, including young English phenom Phil Foden, playmaker extraordinaire Kevin De Bruyne, and former Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland.
There are other stars who are more overlooked, though. Here are the five most underrated Manchester City players.
CB Manuel Akanji
Another former Dortmund star, Manuel Akanji was arguably the best center back in the Bundesliga at one point, and he was holding down the fort for a Black and Yellow defense that was far from extraordinary.
Although Akanji is not a regular starter on a deep Manchester City defense that got even better with the addition of another Bundesliga superstar in Josko Gvardiol, the Swiss international still makes his presence felt on the back line.
One of the most intelligent center backs in world football, Akanji has quickly become someone Pep Guardiola trusts. Akanji has started 22 matches and completes 93.6 percent of his over 76 attempts per game.
AM Julian Alvarez
When Kevin De Bruyne was recovering from an injury, Julian Alvarez stepped in as the No. 10 behind Erling Haaland, though he came in to Manchester City in the same transfer window of 2022 as another top young striker signing (wanted by Real Madrid from River Plate, no less).
Alvarez hasn’t earned nearly as many plaudits as Haaland, but in the opening month or two of the 2023/24 season, he was arguably outperforming the Norwegian superstar.
A transfer bargain in his own right at just 14 million pounds despite being one of the best finishers in South American football, Alvarez has become quite the all-around attacking star for Manchester City.
Just 24 years of age, Alvarez has eight goals and nine assists in the current Premier League campaign, making him one of the most efficient goal contributors in the English top flight.
GK Stefan Ortega
Stefan Ortega is the most underrated Bundesliga signing made by Manchester City yet. For some reason, Bayern Munich didn’t go after the former 1860 Munich standout as the next backup goalkeeper for Manuel Neuer, and they may be regretting that decision.
Instead, former Bayern manager Pep Guardiola snapped Ortega up after his sensational season with Arminia Bielefeld, during which he established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Germany alongside the likes of titans Yann Sommer.
Ortega spent two seasons in the German top flight with Arminia, saving 72.4 and 73.9 shots he faced in those campaigns. Although he is only the backup to Ederson, Ortega is nearly as good and has saved 71.4 percent of the shots against him in the 2023/24 season, during which he has made four Premier League starts.
LW Jeremy Doku
Manchester City wanted to add a dynamic dribbler on the wings in the summer market, and they found their man in former Rennes attacker Jeremy Doku.
The 21-year-old Belgian international has been one of the finest signings of the 2023 summer window in the Premier League, bringing a new element to the Man City attack that Pep Guardiola is increasingly coveting.
Doku can play on either wing, though he has made more starts on the left in competition with Jack Grealish, and has shown superior end product with Manchester City to that with Rennes, totaling seven assists in the league thus far.
As a dribbler, Doku is nearly untouchable and is on the Vinicius Junior level. Doku is putting up 3.4 dribbles per game in the Premier League and 4.3 per game in the Champions League.
DM John Stones
John Stones is so easy to underrate, but, like Manuel Akanji, he is one of the most intelligent defenders in world football and is also even more versatile, capable of playing as a world-class center back or defensive midfielder next to Rodri.
Because of that, Stones is one of Pep Guardiola’s greatest tactical chess pieces in the Champions League, and his covering and reading of the game can make all the difference against elite attacks.
Stones was always one of the best ball-playing center backs in world football, even dating back to his days as a prospect with Everton. Now, the 29-year-old has matured into one of the most complete defensive players and tempo-setters in the game. He doesn’t even have to break a sweat defensively or make a tackle, that’s how positionally sound he is for Man City.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.