Manchester City fans will be hoping their damaged side can get back on the horse in convincing fashion when Premier League football kicks off again in August.
The ten-time top-flight champions fell way below their lofty standards last season when finishing in third spot in the competitive division, whilst an FA Cup final slip-up to Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace further added to the lacklustre mood at the Etihad.
City have been spending big this summer to try and right the wrongs of their 2024/25 campaign coming undone, with Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait Nouri all coming through the door in quick succession, but this hat-trick of exciting buys still couldn’t stop the Citizens from crashing out of the Club World Cup unexpectedly to Al-Hilal.
More new purchases could be pushed onto the table, therefore, to help boost Pep Guardiola’s men even more, with a potential defensive addition around the £25m mark on the agenda.
£25m star now on Man City's agenda
Of course, it’s not just incoming signings that City will be wanting to press on with.
The dented Premier League giants will also want to get even more personnel off their books this summer – away from allowing just Kevin De Bruyne to move onto Napoli – with Jack Grealish reportedly being eyed up by many a potential suitor, including both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, as City continue with their clearout.
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£40m could soon enter into City’s bank account if the former Aston Villa man finally departs Manchester for good, with £25m of that potentially used to snap up Inter Milan defensive star Denzel Dumfries.
Indeed, as per a new report from Italy, the lightning-quick right-back is being eyed up by City as another first-team altering addition.
It’s claimed that City are ready to trigger that £21m release clause fee, signalling their intentions to make a bid in the not-too-distant future.
How Dumfries can be City's answer to Frimpong
Should Dumfries head to England this summer then he could well be City’s answer to Jeremie Frimpong, with the Citizens once possessing the 5-foot-8 menace during his youth days, before he moved on to Liverpool for a hefty £29.5m after a blistering Bayer Leverkusen stint.
Now, that past regret will be far easier to process if Dumfries soon joins Guardiola’s ever-growing camp to be City’s up-to-date answer to their ex-academy talent.
After all, City have licked their wounds in this department before, with Guardiola and Co. still managing to finish above Chelsea last season, even as their former homegrown product Cole Palmer terrorised Premier League defences at will.
Now, they will be hoping to overshadow another of their top-flight rivals in Arne Slot’s Reds by landing their own version of Frimpong, with both right-backs in question loving a speedy dart forward, as much as they love to battle away at the back for their team’s cause.
Last season in the intense environment of the Serie A, Dumfries would dazzle as a gung-ho option on the right, with a sublime seven of his 11 goals for the campaign coming in Italian top-flight action, which included a fantastic breakaway move being finished off by the direct 29-year-old.
Frimpong bettered Dumfries’ hefty amount, but not by much, with the pacey Amsterdam-born defender chipping in with a bumper nine efforts himself in the Bundesliga.
Total shots
1.52
1.36
Shot-creating actions
2.32
2.67
Attempted passes
38.68
35.80
Progressive passes
2.25
2.00
Progressive carries
2.51
4.11
Touches in attacking penalty area
0.76
0.90
Tackles
1.49
1.13
Blocks
1.46
0.98
Aerial duels won
2.60
0.43
The similarities don’t just end with their shared prowess for gallivanting forward with pace, however, as seen when glancing at the table above, with both defenders willing to get stuck in for the cause, too.
If anything, City might be winning themselves a better signing by landing Dumfries for a lesser £25m, with the Dutchman winning more tackles and aerial duels over the last year than Frimpong, according to FBref, away from just being known as a “monster” in the words of journalist Alan Rzepa.
A fascinating battle might well ensue at the top of the division next season between City and Liverpool, with the Citizens hopeful they can return to the Premier League summit after experiencing a blip of a season by securing more and more new stars, such as Dumfries.
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