There is no doubt that Manchester City will miss Raheem Sterling.
On Wednesday the news broke that the City and England winger has agreed to personal terms with Chelsea, with the two clubs close to agreeing a final transfer fee expected to be around £45m. The move will bring about the end of Sterling's glorious seven-year spell in Manchester, during which he won four Premier League titles, four League Cups, one FA Cup and appeared in one Champions League final. He should be regarded as a City legend.
Sterling is not the only attacker to leave Pep Guardiola's side this summer. Earlier this week Gabriel Jesus completed a £45m move to Arsenal, meaning that City will go into the new season without two of their three regular right wing options of last term.
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Filling their spots in Guardiola's squad are Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, two young strikers who will no doubt give City a central attacking presence they sometimes lacked last season.
But if strikers were something City's squad was light on last season, it could be wingers that are in short supply this term. In 2021/22 City had five wingers (six if you include Cole Palmer) and no strikers, whereas in 2022/23 it looks like they'll have four (including Palmer, who Guardiola plans to utilise more) and two strikers.
Three senior, experienced wingers in a team using a 4-3-3 system seems a little lightweight, but City's business suggests that a change of system could be on the horizon, at least in some of City's games.
Towards the end of last season City often played with a double midfield pivot, with their shape — when in possession — looking more like a 4-2-3-1 than 4-3-3. Bernardo Silva was usually the midfielder who dropped deep to sit alongside Rodri, often in big games when City needed an extra body to help escape intense pressure during their build-up play.
While the signing of Kalvin Phillips can be viewed as a straight replacement for Fernandinho, it is extremely unlikely that City have decided to spend £42m on a player to spend most of the season on the bench.
The plan is more likely to be that Phillips will play the Bernardo role in big games, especially if Haaland is playing as an out-and-out striker. Without a false nine City will have one less body with which to control possession and dictate the tempo of games, so slotting someone in alongside Rodri would help establish control.
Phillips is an exceptional ball player, and astute tactician and an elite athlete, so unlike Fernandinho he can play in a multitude of midfield positions.
Should City secure the services of left-footed left-back Marc Cucurella from Brighton, then the left flank will be opened up in a way that wasn't possible with the right-footed Joao Cancelo, regardless of how well the Portuguese international performed in the role.
That will partially make up for the sale of a couple of wingers, and reduce the burden placed on Phil Foden by being City's only left-footed left-winger. City may lack the natural width and pace that Sterling and Jesus brought to the side, but adopting an attack of three attacking midfielders with Haaland ahead of them would mean that any combination of midfielders and wide players could make up the attacking trio.
Provided Guardiola adapts his system to the players at his disposal, then City could be a more balanced team than they were last season.
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