Manchester City will be hoping to claim the FA Cup for the third time under Pep Guardiola this season. It might not make up for a truly dismal campaign in the Premier League and Champions League, but it might offer some solace heading into the summer.
Results and form have improved over the previous few months. Guardiola did go big in the winter transfer window, splashing out around £190m on several signings. Given how well some of them have settled, this could prove to be a masterstroke ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The likes of Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Nico Gonzalez have settled in nicely at City and could take the club into a new era from this summer onwards.
There is still plenty of work to be done to this squad, however, especially with the news that Kevin De Bruyne will depart after 11 years once the season is complete.
City will find it hard to replace a player who registered 284 goal contributions across 417 matches for the club. But that is the challenge awaiting Guardiola.
Elsewhere, he will also be keen to add some more attacking firepower to his first-team squad. Could this involve raiding one of the best teams in Europe this season?
Manchester City eyeing move for PSG starlet
According to TEAMtalk, City are considering a stunning move for Paris Saint-Germain starlet Desire Doue this summer in a bid to bolster their attacking options.
Manchester United are another Premier League side who are keen on securing his signature, while Chelsea and Arsenal, who both tried to sign him before his move to PSG, may well reignite their interest in the player.
Guardiola is an admirer of the teenager and has even sent scouts to monitor his performances for PSG over the previous few months. It appears as though he has been impressed, and this could lead to a bid being made this summer.
The French side will not be keen to lose him and will only listen to offers of €100m (£85m) or above for Doue.
There is no doubt that PSG’s youngster is one of the most talented teenagers on the continent at this moment in time. Signing him this summer could potentially be as transformative a signing as when Erling Haaland made the move from Borussia Dortmund to City back in 2022.
Erling Haaland has been one of City’s best-ever signings
Haaland was one of the most in-demand centre-forwards in the world before his move to England. After scoring 86 goals in just 89 matches for the German side, City won the race for his signature, paying a reported fee of £51.2m for the Norwegian forward.
This has turned out to be a massive bargain. At the time of writing, Haaland has netted 120 goals across 138 appearances for Guardiola, and his signing led to the most impressive season in City’s history.
Indeed, the club won a treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League during the 2022/23 season, finally claiming glory in Europe’s premier club competition.
Haaland’s 52 goals in all competitions went a long way to the club achieving this feat, and the striker also helped propel them to a record fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.
Of course, he isn’t easy on the eye and perhaps lacks the work rate of others in the team, but his record in the final third is second to none.
Despite enduring his least productive spell this season since joining, he still ranks in the top 6% for goals (0.76) per 90 and in the top 4% for shots on target (1.96) per 90 when compared to his peers in the Premier League.
A move for Doue may well get Haaland back to his devastating best ahead of next season, no doubt about that.
Why Manchester City should sign Desire Doue
It is no secret that Guardiola has had plenty of issues on the left flank this season. Jack Grealish has scored just three goals all season when being deployed out wide. Jeremy Doku has also struggled at times, netting six goals throughout the entire season, starting just 19 games in all competitions.
Doue would add something different to this area. Indeed, for PSG this term, the youngster has registered 25 goal involvements – 13 goals and 12 assists – which have helped power the club to another Ligue 1 title and a Champions League semi-final.
Goals
3
6
Assists
2
6
Big chances created
4
16
Shots per game
1.8
1.9
Key passes per game
0.9
1.9
The future is bright for the Frenchman, and his move to PSG has helped showcase his talents.
He was praised heavily by respected analyst Ben Mattinson earlier this year, who said of the youngster: “Absolute genius and freak profile. Look how comfortable he is in all these different zones. How he can create something out of nothing.”
Genius indeed. When compared to his peers in Europe’s top five leagues, Doue ranks in the top 11% for shot-creating actions (5.24), and in the top 8% for progressive passes (6.67), progressive carries (5.69) and successful take-ons (3.01) per 90 in the previous 365 days.
These statistics highlight just how effective the teenager is in the final third, and he has proven so during his first season at PSG.
Many players of his age might have struggled to cope with the demands of leading the club to a maiden Champions League trophy, but Doue has been sensational.
This will also give Guardiola plenty of confidence that the youngster could sparkle for City should he make the move to England this summer.
Marmoush has offered some dynamism to the club’s attacking output in recent months, but bringing in a talent like Doue could take City back to the summit of the Premier League table.
They will have to break the bank to sign him, but there is no doubt a move for the French teen sensation could turn out to be their most important signing since Haaland arrived three years ago.
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