Since taking over Manchester City in 2016, Pep Guardiola’s team has constantly evolved, going through different eras with countless top quality players key to the Sky Blues’ success.
Right now, we’re all very much living in the Erling Braut Håland-era, given that the Norwegian striker has now scored 18 goals this season, most recently on target against former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
In behind the goalbot though, Guardiola has an array of attacking options at his disposal, but could two of these players be poised to replicate, arguably, Manchester City’s most productive ever attacking duo?
Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling's Manchester City legacy
Of players who’ve made the most appearances for Guardiola during his illustrious managerial career, Raheem Sterling ranks seventh on 292, while Kevin De Bruyne sits second with 381, behind only Bernardo Silva.
The Belgian departed for Napoli in the summer having scored 108 goals and registered 177 assists for Man City, a high proportion of which were for Sterling.
As noted by Total Football Analysis, in the 2019/20 season, De Bruyne registered 20 Premier League assists, equaling Thierry Henry’s long-standing record, with 25% of these assists providing Sterling with a goal, underlining their exceptional combination play.
The midfielder himself stated that he and Sterling had a “strong connection”, making them unquestionably one of the most dangerous attacking partnerships in modern Premier League history, winning four league titles and seven other major trophies together.
With both having now moved on to pastures new, Guardiola is searching for his next great attacking partnership, seeking to feed a certain prolific striker, so does he boast the ideal two candidates?
Manchester City's new Sterling and De Bruyne
Now that Manchester City’s treatment room has begun to empty, Guardiola has plenty of options from which to choose, with eight players battling for the four spots alongside Håland.
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Against Borussia Dortmund in mid-week, Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho, Jérémy Doku and scorer of a brace Phil Foden started, while Silva, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki were all introduced during the second half, with Oscar Bobb left in reserve.
Nevertheless, ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster Premier League clash with Liverpool, Guardiola has to prioritise establishing Cherki and Doku as a partnership.
The 22-year-old Frenchman arrived from Olympique Lyonnais for £34m in the summer with a massive reputation.
Guardiola asserted that Cherki “is one of the most talented players I have ever seen in my career”, while Lyon teammate Ainsley Maitland-Niles labelled him “an absolute… wizard with the ball”.
So far, including the Club World Cup, Cherki has scored four goals in sky blue, on target against Wolves on his Premier League debut, subsequently netting against Swansea in the EFL Cup and Dortmund in the Champions League.
Doku meantime has been consistently one of the Premier League’s most prolific dribblers since first joining the club, as the table below highlights.
Attempted take-ons
2nd
2nd
Successful take-ons
1st
2nd
Progressive carries
1st
1st
Carries into area
2nd
3rd
Assists
43rd
4th
Shot-creating actions
62nd
4th
Big chances created
54th
1st
As the table outlines, Doku is both a high-quality and high-volume dribbler, ranked behind only Mohammed Kudus when it comes to take-ons this season.
However, ten matches into this campaign, there are signs that the Belgian will exponentially increase his attacking output, seeing a vast increase when it comes to shot-creating actions and big chances created.
In 1,514 Premier League minutes last time round, he created only eight big chances and registered just six assists, while this season, in only 549 minutes, he has already racked up five big chances created and three assists, thereby very much on course to smash last season’s tally.
Former Tottenham captain Ledley King labelled Doku “dynamic”, adding that he “likes to attack on the outside” while, following a 5-1 win over Burnley, Guardiola described the winger as “unstoppable”, interestingly noting that “I have the feeling that Jérémy’s decision-making in the final third has improved”.
Reportedly earning £50k-per-week and £180k-per-week respectively, both still aged 23 or under, there are signs that Doku and Cherki are both realising their true potential at Man City.
On paper, Cherki’s creativity and eye for a pass, coupled with Doku’s flair, pace and off-the-scale dribbling ability, has all the ingredients to replicate when De Bruyne and Sterling were able to produce for many years.
Thus, it is over to Guardiola to ensure this duo can flourish together, starting on Sunday when Liverpool visit the Etihad in a match not to be missed.
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