Fair to say, Manchester City have been busy in this transfer window already.
Reports suggest the four-in-a-row Premier League champions are on the cusp of signing both Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush as well as Abdukodir Khusanov, a centre-back from Lens.
However, it seems Pep Guardiola isn’t yet satisfied, with the generational rejuvenation and overhaul of his squad firmly underway.
Man City transfer news
According to a report by Danny Rust and Dean Jones for Give Me Sport earlier this week, Manchester City are ‘taking a serious look’ at Nottingham Forest right-back Ola Aina.
The 28-year-old’s contract does expire this summer, after the club triggered a one-year extension last May, meaning he would be available for free from 1 July, but that aforementioned report claims the Sky Blues are interested in making a move this month, with Pep Guardiola himself having admitted his team are “at risk” of missing out on Champions League qualification, currently sixth in the table.
Mick Brown of Football Insider notes that Forest are ‘holding talks’ with Aina over the prospect of a new contract, but could the prospect of joining the serial Premier League champions turn his head?
The Nigerian international began his career at Chelsea, making just six senior appearances for the Blues, loaned out to Hull City and Torino, before being sold to Il Toro for a miserly £7m.
He featured 113 times for the Serie A side, also spending one season on loan at Fulham, enduring a miserable time as the Cottagers were relegated, enjoying just five victories all season.
Aina then returned to the Premier League, joining Nottingham Forest on a free transfer in 2023, taking his game to the next level in the East Midlands.
Now, his future could lie at the Etihad…
How Ola Aina would improve Manchester City
Of course, Nottingham Forest are flying high right now, currently third in the Premier League following five successive victories, achieving this for the first time in the top division since September 1963, something Brian Clough didn’t even manage.
Former Wigan Athletic and Nigeria striker Julius Aghahowa, who scored 14 times for the Super Eagles, believes his compatriot has been the “best right-back in the Premier League” this season, impressed by Aina when it comes to both “defence and attack”.
Of course, should Aina make the move to Manchester, he’d be seeking to take Kyle Walker’s place at right-back.
Now 34 years old, the Englishman has come under intense scrutiny in recent months, with Michael Cox of the Athletic writing Walker had become ‘overly reliant on his recovery pace’, while, with that pace starting to fade, Ben McAleer of the Guardian adds Walker’s career at the elite level appears to be ‘drawing to a close’.
So, how do Man City’s current right-back and their, potential, future incumbent of that position compare?
Statistics
Ola Aina
Kyle Walker
Appearances
20
21
Minutes
1,733
1,404
Passes attempted
822
944
Pass completion %
74.1%
87.6%
Shot-creating actions
36
18
Tackles
41
19
% of dribblers tackled
61.9%
53.8%
Blocks
18
13
Interceptions
26
4
Ball recoveries
118
48
Touches
1,033
1,015
The pair have played a very similar number of minutes this season, and the data outlined in the table above is very informative.
Walker’s in possession numbers, passes attempted and pass completion %, are far higher, partially due to the fact Forest and Man City have widely different styles of play.
However, Aina’s statistics are far more impressive when it comes to traditional defending, accumulating more than two times as many ball recoveries and over six times as many interceptions, while Walker’s figure of 53.8% means an attacker is dribbling past him almost half the time.
Thus, if the Citizens can get the deal done in January, they absolutely should because, not only would they get their hands on an outstanding defender and a potential upgrade, they’d weaken one of the teams they’re seeking to overtake in the race for Champions League qualification.
Indeed, the reigning Premier League champions could potentially re-energise their whole right flank should that Marmoush deal also go through, with the Egyptian – who has scored 13 goals and registered eight assists in just 15 Bundesliga games this season – able to operate on either wing, or through the middle.
With Erling Haaland the primary presence through the middle, and with a resurgent Savinho – who has chalked up four goal involvements in his last two league games – finding home on the left wing, a role could be available for Marmoush on that right-hand side, ahead of Aina.
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Two deals for those latter two men could be just what Guardiola needs to freshen up both his squad and starting lineup, ahead of a hectic end to 2024/25.
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