MX23RW : Wednesday, January 15 11:51:43| >> :60:242:242:

Ferran Soriano: 'Defender will complete Manchester City's business'

Premier League champions Manchester City will complete their summer business with the signing of a central defender, according to chief executive Ferran Soriano.

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano expects the Premier League champions to wrap up their summer business by signing a central defender.

The Citizens have already recruited goalkeeper Willy Caballero, Bruno Zuculini, Fernando and former Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna during this transfer window.

Soriano has admitted that centre-back is still an area which they are looking to improve, with Porto's Eliaquim Mangala and Roma's Mehdi Benatia having been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium, but has stressed that there is not a need for City to purchase players for other positions.

He told the Men In Blazers podcast: "We don't plan season by season, we plan in cycles. And cycles can be three, four, five seasons. One year ago, we knew the positions we wanted to reinforce in the team and we did it.

"We have a new right-back, we have a holding midfielder, we'll have a new central defender and that's it. We don't need to sign new players for the sake of it.

"We need to sign players that the team needs because the team has a balance. To win you need to keep the balance. Our squad is very strong and it's the second year that they play with Manuel Pellegrini, so they'll do much better."

City allowed Joleon Lescott to depart for West Bromwich Albion at the end of last season, leaving Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Matija Nastasic as their only recognised central defenders.

ID:168844: cacheID:168844:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3013:
Written by
Joe Fish
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Vincent Kompany of Manchester City lifts the Premier League trophy at the end of the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on May 11, 2014
Read Next:
Toure: City "looking for the Champions League"
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool20145148202847
2Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest21125430201041
3Arsenal20117239182140
4Chelsea21107441261537
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2110563829935
7Bournemouth219753225734
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham217953230230
10Brentford218494037328
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham217592741-1426
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2044123145-1416
18Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!