Every summer these days, the same question seems to be asked: do Manchester City need a new left-back?
For many fans and pundits, the answer is usually yes. Yet here we are again, the new season less than two weeks away and a new recruit nowhere to be seen.
With the signing of England star Jack Grealish looking imminent after City submitted a £100 million offer, Pep Guardiola will be trying to figure out which of full-backs would form the best partnership with his new attacking weapon, who likes to operate of the left.
Grealish formed a great understanding with Matt Targett at Aston Villa, with the full-back often bombing on to provide his skipper with options.
From a purely attacking perspective, Benjamin Mendy would fill that role best at City.
As his heat map from 2020/21 shows, the Frenchman is City’s most attacking left-sided option. He loves to get forward and create overload situations, and as a natural left footer is suited to whipping in dangerous crosses.
Mendy completed 82.4 per cent of his dribbles last season, and made 26 crosses, an average of two per game. By comparison, Zinchenko only provided 17 in 20 appearances.
However, the caveat with Mendy is his injury record. The £50million man made only 13 Premier League appearances last season, and just cannot seem to stay fit.
As Zinchenko has proven in recent years, he is the all-round more reliable option.
He may not be as attack-minded as his French colleague, but defensively he looks more solid. When dribbled at by an opponent last season, the Ukrainian successfully tackled 50 per cent of the time compared to Mendy’s 27.8 per cent.
Guardiola’s football philosophy is based on ball retention. With a 90.2 per cent pass completion rate, Zinchenko trumps Mendy’s 81.7 per cent.
Crucially, he is capable of fulfilling the ‘inverted full-back’ role that Guardiola employed during the first half of 2020/21. This gives him the advantage of being able to play in two different systems; inverted or attacking full-back.
Zinchenko's mentality is another huge quality. After pulling out of a move away from the Etihad in 2018 he has put in numerous gutsy performances, none more so than in the Champions League semi-final home leg against PSG last season in which he was outstanding.
While Joao Cancelo can play left-back, he has looked more comfortable on his natural right side.
The Portuguese international was a revelation last season as a creative inverted right-back, but by the end of the campaign he had been displaced by a resurgent Kyle Walker.
Guardiola still trusts him, but City do look more expansive with a left-footer at left-back.
So that leaves a choice between Zinchenko and Mendy – unless Txiki Begiristain dips into the transfer kitty.
City have been rumoured to be interested in the services of Nuno Mendes and Alejandro Grimaldo, but the club has not made any enquiries so far.
Mendes looks a real talent. The Sporting Lisbon starlet is still a rough diamond at only 18 years of age, so he could take a while to adapt to Guardiola’s system if City changed their stance on him and made a move.
But there is no doubting his class. He is a direct attacking full-back that likes to run at defenders, whether that be down the flank or through the inside channel.
The 59 fouls he drew last season show how tough he is to handle, and the fact that he is comfortable on either foot make him an unpredictable threat.
Grimaldo has impressed for Benfica in recent seasons, and at 26 years old is nearing his prime.
He scored two goals and provided nine assists in 31 Liga Nos appearances last season, the latter the second most in the league.
As his 2020/21 heatmap shows, Grimaldo spends a lot of time in the attacking half, particularly on the overlap.
A move for either this summer now looks unlikely, but come the next transfer window, they are sure to be leading candidates if City are to consider a left-back. They may still need one.
Who do you think Guardiola should go with at left-back: Zinchenko, Mendy or Cancelo, or a new signing? Let us know in the comments.
All statistics obtained via FBref.com.
