Manchester City have been blessed with some incredible midfield gems over the years with the end of Kevin De Bruyne’s unbelievable journey with the Premier League giants now in sight.
With 108 goals and 177 assists next to his name, the Belgian will surely bow out as one of City’s modern day greats, with other stars that used to strut their stuff from the middle of the park in a similar dazzling way including David Silva and Yaya Toure among many others.
Now, it’s up to Pep Guardiola to find his next pool of exceptional midfield gems in the upcoming transfer window, with one target perhaps going down as a new take on Toure if everything aligns nicely.
Man City's pursuit of a new Toure
Before delving deeper into how City’s new target could go on to achieve greatness like the Ivorian, there are an extensive list of midfield names on Guardiola’s shopping list growing by the week.
Indeed, both German superstar Florian Wirtz and Nottingham Forest talent Morgan Gibbs-White have been incessantly linked with a big-money move to the Etihad, with Sporting CP winger Francisco Trincao also reportedly on City’s radar alongside arch rivals Manchester United.
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But, their focus might now have switched to sealing the signature of West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta, with reports from Spain suggesting that Guardiola and Co have set their sights on landing the enigmatic Brazilian this summer.
The Irons midfielder has been on the club’s radar for a while now, notably seeing a £60m bid rejected back in 2023, before they registered further interest in 2024.
Paqueta has been embroiled in a whole host of controversies at the London Stadium, but when assessing his midfield capabilities in isolation, he has the potential to become the Spaniard’s next Toure, with the South American a skilful, but tough presence centrally much like the ex-City number 42.
How Paqueta could be Guardiola's next Toure
It will be extremely hard for the Hammers number 10 to ever become as beloved as the now-retired midfielder, considering Toure would end his esteemed stay at the club with three league titles next to his name after picking up 125 goal contributions in total.
But, Paqueta – now valued at £30m via Transfermarkt – could slot into Guardiola’s main XI as a similarly lively presence anyway.
Indeed, the 27-year-old has garnered a reputation for being an entertaining figure in the heart of the West Ham midfield ever since his move to the London Stadium in 2022.
After all, even with a betting scandal weighing heavily, Paqueta has still managed to chip in with five goals this season in all competitions for Graham Potter’s lowly Hammers, which included a nicely-worked move being finished off by the 55-time Brazil international during Potter’s debut match from the dug-out.
Toure’s goal tally was always grander than just five for Guardiola’s men – with his lowest for a season coming in at the heftier seven – but Paqueta’s 18 goals and 14 assists overall for his current employers definitely makes him stick out as a tenacious yet attacking presence in the centre of the park akin to the former City icon.
CM
Toure
231
58
32
DM
Toure
210
24
20
AM
Toure
75
11
13
DM
Paqueta
5
0
0
AM
Paqueta
134
27
19
Much like the ex-Barcelona man before him too, Paqueta can either be unleashed as an attacking “maverick” – as he was once labelled by David Moyes – or slot into the side as a more defensively-minded midfielder, with his high tally of 6.3 duels won per game this season in the league sticking out in this regard.
City will just have to hope any scandals next to the Brazilian’s name begin to dissipate on his arrival to Manchester, with the serial trophy winners finding themselves burnt here in the past when Toure exited the club in 2018 after being reportedly shunned on his birthday.
Whilst it’s obvious the 27-year-old is a similarly flamboyant character, everyone at City will just pray the “incredible” talent – as he was also lauded by Moyes – lets his football do the talking like Toure also successfully managed.
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