Soccer / de bruyne

If you've been following the football news lately, you've surely come across the name - Houssem Aouar. The Lyon youngster has been in the news since 2018. He is one of the hottest properties in all of Europe. Big clubs like Juventus, PSG and Manchester City are looking to sign this Midfield Maestro. In this post I will try to assess his past performances, style of play and prove why a move to Manchester City makes perfect sense for the Frenchman. But first, let's take a brief look at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City play in a 4-3-3 formation. Pep Guardiola likes his team to play attractive football. They dominate possession and create goal scoring opportunities mainly through player movements. Wingers are instructed to stay wide, which creates pockets of space for the midfielders to exploit. Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva have played this role for the past two seasons. In terms of quality these three midfielders are among the finest in all of Europe. Pep Guardiola needs his centre midfielders to play like number 8's but with defensive duties. The midfielders should be able to create, score and defend. Now, let's talk about Houssem Aouar. The closest comparison to Houssem Aouar would be Andres Iniesta. Aouar has played as a centre midfielder, defensive midfielder and even as a left winger at Lyon. His versatility has played a key role in his success at Lyon. He is a smooth midfield orchestrator. He carries the ball from deep positions, pulls of unrealistic passes and makes a decent defensive contribution, which means that he is a complete midfielder. Aouar displays a great sense of spatial awareness. Aouar finds himself on scoresheet very regularly, often scoring or assisting crucial goals. His very notable contribution was when he assisted the only goal in the first leg against Ronaldo's Juventus in the UCL this season. With David Silva leaving and Kevin De Bruyne's future in doubt after City faced a ban from the UCL, City will dip into the market for a centre midfielder. Tactically, Aouar seems to be the best option. One can easily imagine Aouar flourish under Pep Guardiola. Aouar can play as a number 8 or as a defensive midfielder at city. He has proven himself in the UCL and seems to be destined for greatness. If Manchester City can persuade him over to England it'll be a win-win situation for both the parties involved.