What a difference a couple of weeks can make at a football club. Just over a fortnight ago Manchester City lost quite miserably to German cracks VfB Stuttgart in their last friendly of preseason.

It looked then that City were well short and could struggle to challenge for the English Premier League title.

But then the season started and the ‘Citizens’ took West Brom to task in a 3-0 win. They would then humble Premier League champions Chelsea at the Etihad, where they once again recorded a 3-0 victory.

The City side have looked sensational with Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure back playing at their best!

But boss Manuel Pellegrini isn’t resting on his laurels and waiting to see what Chelsea are going to do next. Nor is the Chilean holding on to see if Manchester rivals United strengthen again before making any adjustments to his own squad.

No Pellegrini still knows that a strong dependable centre-back needs to come in and act as a natural partner for captain Kompany.

That has seen City coming to an agreement with Valencia CF for Argentine defender Nicolas Otamendi.

It’s expected that the central defender will be flying to Manchester in the coming days to complete a medical after a fee in the region of £32m was agreed.

Another indicator that a move is close to completion is that Valencia have left Otamendi out of their Champions side to face AS Monaco this week.

The move would be an astute one for City as they look to solidify their defence. Last season they had the worst defence record in the top four!

Otamendi is a player who likes to tackle, is strong and can be commanding too. The six foot star is versatile to play across the backline but I’d expect him to stay central at City. Can also bring the ball out of the back and hit some decent long passes from deep positions. Was a mainstay in the Valencia team that finished fourth in La Liga last term.

The Argentine international is also a goal threat too, scoring six times in the past year.

Being twenty-seven could be another big plus in getting Nicolas to the Etihad. The current duo vying for a place beside Kompany are at opposite ends of their career.

Martin Demichelis has had a stellar career but is now approaching his thirty-fifth birthday. His lack of pace has been a problem in some of the bigger games.

Then there is Eliaquim Mangala. The French international is twenty-four and looked nervy for much of last season, following his £31.8m move from FC Porto last summer. Ironically Mangala has made a fine start to this campaign but Pellegrini knows that more competition for the centre-back roles is still needed.

Whereas Nocolas Otamendi should be at the peak of his powers as long as he settles in quickly.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini deserves a lot of credit if he can push this transfer over the line. It shows hunger and intent from City as they launch a strong bid to regain the Premier League crown.

The Sky Blues are also rumoured to be ready to offer £45m for Wolfsburg playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. Bringing in the Belgian would be another plus but I still think that Otamendi could be the key summer signing. If he can combine well with Vincent Kompany at the back, then City could become a formidable opponent to try and breakdown!

Posted on August 19th, 2015 by scott
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