Pep Guardiola prefers to play Fernandinho at centre-back rather than persisting with a pairing of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi. The Brazilian has been playing as a defender since Aymeric Laporte’s injury back in September and despite the aforementioned pair having played there throughout their careers, the Spaniard prefers to put his faith in the 34-year-old.
Stones and Otamendi were the most regularly selected pair during the 2017/18 season (per Manchester Evening News) in which Guardiola’s side marched to the title registering 100 points but the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has clearly lost faith in them. Stones’ performances have been extremely inconsistent and Otamendi has cost the team dearly this season as a result of some high-profiled individual errors.
Is Fernandinho competent enough at centre-back to play the remainder of the season there?
Yes
No
When asked why he hasn’t been selecting the two he replied: “I like Dinho playing in that position a lot.” Guardiola was asked whether he preferred the midfielder to his centre backs, the 48-year-old said: “Right now, yes. That’s why he plays.”
TIF Tactics – Where do the supporters stand on Fernandinho the defender?
The club’s supporters are desperate to see Fernandinho, who is valued at £10.8m by TransferMarkt, return to the defensive midfield role in which he has protected the back four so effectively for years (per Manchester Evening News). However, it isn’t as simple as that in Guardiola’s eyes – he clearly feels he has enough talent in the midfield to cover the Brazilian’s absence, therefore, he can use him to cover for two central defenders he clearly no longer rates.
When the transfer window opens in January you suspect central defence will be an area in which the Cityzen’s are looking to strengthen but we all know the mid-season transfer market is an extremely difficult one to navigate successfully.
However, with City desperate to close the gap on Liverpool and challenge for the Champions League, they may be forced into plugging the hole at least temporarily. Reports suggest they could be set to go after Leicester City’s Caglar Soyuncu but given the Foxes currently sit above them and are in no need of the funds, it could be an extremely difficult deal to strike mid-season.