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How Man City are COPYING Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd in the transfer market - Souness
MANCHESTER CITY’s transfer business is similar to that of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United - while the Red Devils have slipped into a pattern of “buying under pressure”.
That’s the verdict of Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness.
The gap between neighbours Manchester United and Manchester City was on show in the Manchester derby last night as the visitors ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at Old Trafford.
The two teams were a world apart in quality as Pep Guardiola’s side earned a victory that puts them on course for a second straight Premier League title and a 98-point finish, having ended last season amassing 100 points.
It has meanwhile been claimed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United need to overhaul the majority of their squad in order to catch City and their main title challengers, Liverpool.
After last night’s loss, United trail league-leading City by 25 points while Liverpool are also a chasmic 24 clear of the Red Devils.
And Souness believes one of the chief problems that has seen those two clubs soar clear of United is that the 20-time champions have not had a clear strategy in the transfer market.
Meanwhile, he believes City’s clear ideas and the progress they have made means Pep Guardiola only needs to add a few players each window to bolster his team.
And the former Liverpool midfielder thinks that is exactly what United legend Sir Alex Ferguson - who won 38 trophies in 26 years - used to do, with the club having yet to win a title in the six years since the Scot retired.
United are buying under pressure
Souness said: “City are in a wonderful position where they’ve got a team that’s winning trophies.
“The nucleus is there, how they’re going to play is set. It’s just about cherry-picking. It’s what United did for years.
“They were top of the tree and could just go and pick out two or three players at the end of each season.
“They weren’t buying under pressure, they didn’t have to come into the team and be in the first eleven.
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“They could pop in and out, have a good look at what they do and get their way eventually.
“Whereas now United are buying under pressure. That’s where the mistakes happen. What’s their priority? What positions? Is it a midfielder? Is it a defender?
“City know where they’re going, City know that Fernandinho is 33 and that’s an obvious thing [they need to address]. They can just cherry pick, they’re not buying under pressure.
“That’s when you don’t make mistakes.
“Like with Jorginho, ‘So we didn’t get him, there’ll be someone else that comes along next year.’ I think United, it’s a really, really difficult place to find themselves in I think.”