Four things Pep Guardiola could do at Man City to resolve Aymeric Laporte injury crisis

Posted Thursday, September 05, 2019 by Express.co.uk

Four things Pep Guardiola could do at Man City to resolve Aymeric Laporte injury crisis
Man City: What Pep Guardiola could do in defence after Aymeric Laporte injury worries (Image: GETTY Images)

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will be sweating over the absence of Aymeric Laporte, who could be ruled out of Premier League action for up to four months through injury. Here’s four things the manager could do to resolve City’s centre-back crisis.

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte could be on the sidelines for between three and four months, after being stretchered off against Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.

The Frenchman damaged his cartilage and lateral meniscus in City’s 4-0 win over the Seagulls.

Laporte’s absence has been met with concern by City fans, after his superb contribution to Pep Guardiola’s team over the past 18 months.

He’s firmly established himself as the second-best centre-back in the Premier League. But with that prestige, it’s only natural that City will notice his absence even more when he’s not playing.

Express Sport is on hand to take a look at four things Guardiola could do in order to ensure Laporte isn't missed too much.

Play John Stones

After Vincent Kompany left the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season to become player-manager at Anderlecht, City chose not to recruit a replacement.

Guardiola had faith in John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi to provide support for Laporte, who is surely City’s number one choice central defender.

But, now that Laporte is injured for a prolonged period of time, Guardiola will likely have to make some decisions over the coming months about his replacement.

Stones is just coming back from injury himself, and will likely slot straight into Laporte’s space in the starting 11.

The England international is a firm favourite of Guardiola and City fans, and he’s accustomed to playing alongside the fiery Otamendi.

Utilise Fernandinho

If either of Stones or Otamendi sustain an injury before Christmas, the City boss will likely turn to veteran Fernandinho to fill in the gap.

The Brazilian has played as a centre-half for the Citizens before, despite being a natural holding midfielder.

Guardiola seems to have a habit of converting defensive midfielders into centre-backs (he did so with Javier Mascherano at Barcelona and Javi Martinez at Bayern Munich).

Move Kyle Walker inside

The Spaniard could also tinker with his usual 4-3-3 formation to cater for Kyle Walker.

Moving Walker into a back-three, alongside Otamendi, Stones or Fernandinho, could give the defence added pace and quality in possession.

New signing Joao Cancelo would easily fit into the right wing-back role alongside Walker, to provide added width while the England star takes care of defensive responsibilities.

Put faith in youth

Should he avoid other options at his disposal, Guardiola could call upon some of City’s talented youngsters.

Philippe Sandler earned a loan move to Kompany’s Anderlecht this summer, but he could be recalled for first-team duty if needed.

The Dutch star joined City in October last year, and impressed for City during the 7-0 FA Cup demolition of Rotherham, and a 1-0 win over Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup.

There’s also the talented 18-year-old Eric Garcia, who has been tipped for big things in his future.

The Spain Under-21 international looked calm and confident on the ball during his three Carabao Cup appearances last season, and would easily make the step up the senior squad.

With huge matches against Liverpool at Anfield, Chelsea, Arsenal and the small matter of a Manchester derby before Laporte’s return, Guardiola would do well to resolve the problem soon.