Julian Weigl: Why the German Busquets is perfect for Manchester City

Manchester City will definitely win this season’s Premier League trophy.

Pep Guardiola’s side is so dominant that they are 16 points clear at the top of the table. Guardiola already started looking for possible summer acquisitions and there are speculations that Julian Weigl is first on the wish list.

Pep Guardiola is keen to bolster his midfield, and the Borussia Dortmund ace has been earmarked as a long-term replacement for 32-year-old Fernandinho.

Weigl made a name for himself as a youngster at 1860 Munich, before being snapped up by BVB in 2015.

His first season in Dortmund was largely a success as he featured regularly in midfield, despite being just 20-years-old when the season ended. The holding midfielder has made rapid progress at Westfalenstadion under BVB head coach Thomas Tuchel, establishing himself as a key man in the team.

Weigl, who already has more than 180 appearances in his club career at the age of 22, certainly fits the profile of a classic Pep Guardiola midfielder.

Rather than playing like an old-school defensive midfielder, Weigl is part of a new breed of midfield.

He is less rampaging and has more intelligent positioning, not too dissimilar to Sergio Busquets at Barcelona. Like the Spanish midfielder, Weigl is tall and slim. Weigl instead uses intelligent positioning to influence the game from midfield as he is not blessed with pace.

Not only is he a fine player with a high ceiling for future development, but the German has so many stylistic qualities that would improve the Catalan’s side.

Criticism of Weigl’s physicality and speed may have some validity but his passing range is immense and anyone who’s seen him play regularly will know that’s why Pep rates him so highly.

Julian Weigl is a defensive midfielder with brains. He is perfect fit in Pep’s tactics, the missing piece in what Pep is trying to build at City.

 

Written by Rijad Abaza

Follow Rijad on Twitter @RijadAbaza

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