Manchester City simply must act in the transfer market before they face Brentford | OneFootball

Manchester City picked up a 4-1 win over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium yesterday. The win sees Pep Guardiola’s side keep pace with Chelsea and Newcastle in the battle for a top-four finish. But coming out of the game a simple fact stood out. City must act now in the transfer market. It’s at a point where they must get players in before their next Premier League fixture against Brentford.

Pep Guardiola was far from pleased with his team’s performance at the Etihad yesterday. In quotes relayed by Joe Bray for Manchester Evening News, the City manager blasted his team. He believes they aren’t anywhere near their best and you do get the sense that they don’t have the players in their squad to play how their manager demands. That should see them look to act quickly in the transfer market to fix the holes in Guardiola’s squad.

Manchester City’s midfield needs refreshing. There is a lack of legs in the engine room for the world champions. It’s a pressing need for Pep Guardiola’s side to add another midfielder. You would hope that they can add one before they take on Brentford at the GTech Community Stadium. Thomas Frank’s side has pace in their ranks and you feel that City can’t afford not to have another midfielder in by then.

Defensively there are concerns with City’s squad. Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol and Kyle Walker were all below their best yesterday against West Ham. But the defensive issues in Pep Guardiola’s squad aren’t a new issue. They have been clear to see all season. Ryan Taylor has reported for the Mirror that Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov is on City’s radar. Taylor adds that a fee of £20 million is reportedly Lens asking price for Khusanov. It now may be time for Manchester City to act to shore up their defence. The young Uzbekistan centre-back could be the player to do just that.

But coming out of yesterday’s match at the Etihad you get the sense that Manchester City must act now in the transfer market. Perhaps that was what Pep Guardiola was hinting at when he spoke post-game. Ideally you’d like to see City bring in any new players before they take on Brentford. That will be a tough match against a quality opponent who do look to built to take advantage of Manchester City’s current frailties.