Manchester City have slowly been rebuilding in 2025, after running into many problems last season.
Manchester City failed to win a trophy and could only finish third in the Premier League, with Liverpool putting a stop to Pep Guardiola’s dominance.
City had the chance to make amends at the Club World Cup, but fell short against Al-Hilal in the Round of 16.
It has been particularly alarming to watch how City have defended in recent times.
Guardiola’s side have been very porous at the back for a while now, with questions being asked of people like Ruben Dias, Ederson, John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
City moved for Abdukodir Khusanov in January. But it could be some time before we start to see the best of him. Pundit Steve Nicol has said Khusanov is not good enough, but hopefully the Uzbekistan international will prove him and others wrong.
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It remains to be seen if City will try and sign another centre-back this summer, but apparently, Pep Guardiola is unhappy over one defender’s move to another club.
Pep Guardiola frustrated Man City didn’t sign Dean Huijsen, who is already shining at Real Madrid
Dean Huijsen playing for Real Madrid.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
It has been reported by Defensa Central that there is frustration for Guardiola over Dean Huijsen’s recent transfer to Real Madrid.
Huijsen was one of the standout young players in the Premier League last season for Bournemouth. Indeed, midway through the campaign, Gary Lineker branded him ‘outstanding’ (via Metro).
He only joined from Juventus last year, but it quickly became apparent that he was a top prospect, and after just one year at the Vitality, he has already moved on.
Real paid around £50 million (Sky Sports) to sign the Spain international.
And Defensa Central have reported that Guardiola feels City should have pushed harder to sign Huijsen.
But it is pointed out that Huijsen was always pretty set on joining Madrid, so potentially a deal may simply never have been doable.
So far, Huijsen has played four games for Madrid at the Club World Cup – and he has already raised the quality of the backline.
Man City missed out on a special talent in Huijsen
Seemingly, City were never really that close to signing Huijsen.
Interest from City in Huijsen was reported earlier this year, but there has never been any suggestion of a proper push from the club.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shows his frustration.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Potentially, his stance of wanting to join Madrid deterred City from pushing.
And City’s loss is very much Madrid’s gain, with one Spanish journalist – Tomas Roncero – even recently calling Huijsen the ‘signing of the century’ for Real Madrid (via AS).
It is not easy to succeed at Madrid given the level of pressure and expectation, but Huijsen really does have all the tools to become a huge success at the Bernabeu.