Could Young French Star Be The Heir To Fernandinho’s Man City Throne?

Fernandinho

English newspaper The Daily Mail have suggested that Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Tanguy Ndombele could on Manchester City’s wanted list when the summer transfer window opens.

To be honest it would be a move that would make a lot of sense, in my opinion.

The current Premier League champions often look weaker whenever midfield enforcer Fernandinho isn’t in the side marshalling things in the engine room.

The Brazilian international has a strong work ethic, will win the ball back and is also very efficient with his passing. City just don’t seem to have a player of similar quality to come in when he’s injured or suspended.

Fernandinho’s going to turn thirty-four years of age before the start of next season. With that in mind, Man City boss Pep Guardiola would be foolish if he didn’t want to bring in a younger player to help carry the load and help the team when the veteran’s missing.

I think it’s worth noting that Ndombele has the raw potential to go all the way and become a world class midfielder. That being said I don’t think he’d arrive and walk straight into the Man City team.

Like Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus before him, he’d be asked to watch on from the bench and given proper time to adapt to the English game.

But he has all the attributes to succeed in the Premier League.

The twenty-two year old’s passing average of 88% is higher than that of Fernandinho. The Brazilian does make slightly more tackles per league game (2.1 compared to 2) and the more experienced man makes vastly more clearances and wins more aerial duels (stats from Whoscored).

But with Fernandinho tied to Man City until at least 2020, Tanguy could learn a lot about the holding role from the current City star.

Ndombele received his international debut in October and has been in great form for Lyon in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League.

He’s a player who remains calm under pressure, that can find a forward pass, has the skills to skip challenges and who doesn’t mind getting stuck in either. Being a young player, he’s of that age that Pep likes as he can mould the midfielder because he’ll be eager to learn and hungry to impress.

Lyon will want top dollar for one of their prized assets. The OL President will only sell for the right price. It could cost any team £70m (Source -The Sun) for Tanguy Ndombele services but that just might be worth it if the Frenchman can give Manchester City the same kind of service Fernandinho has given them over the years.

Leave a Reply