Manchester City’s attackers this season have been slightly hit-and-miss. It has been a great campaign for some, including Erling Haaland, who has once again been in fine goalscoring form.
The Norwegian has scored 27 times across all competitions already this term. Phil Foden had a slow start, but he now has ten goals and five assists in all competitions.
One of the more disappointing players has been Jack Grealish. The England international has scored twice and grabbed five assists in 24 appearances this season, a slightly underwhelming tally given his brilliance. However, he has begun to find his best form again.
Two of the players who have had quite interesting campaigns so far are Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho.
De Bruyne and Savinho’s 2024/25 so far
It has been a tough season for City in 2024/25. They are struggling in the Premier League, now facing a battle for a place in the top four, and are on course to be knocked out of the Champions League. Real Madrid have a 3-2 lead going into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
For two of their attackers, De Bruyne and Savinho, it has been a mixed bag. The Brazilian joined the club for £30.8m over the summer and has shown plenty of promise.
The 20-year-old has two goals and eight assists across all competitions, which included a goal and assist in a 2-0 win against Leicester City.
De Bruyne has shown flashes of brilliance, and although he has struggled with injuries again, has still managed to put up some good goals and assist numbers. He has scored three times and grabbed six assists this term, with all but one coming in the Premier League.
It has been an odd season for the Belgian, who has spent plenty of time on the bench far more than you might expect for a player of his calibre. At the start of December, Gary Neville explained that he thought “something is definitely going on in the dressing room” for the Belgian to be on the sidelines so often.
It has certainly been a strange campaign for the Citizens, and in many ways, Savinho and De Bruyne sum that up.
Interestingly, there is a former City player, outperforming both of them this season. He might have had a big impact if he was still at the club.
The former City player who's now shining
Perhaps City could have done with the very “special” Ferran Torres this season, as football scout Antonio Mango described him. The Spaniard has impressed at Barcelona this term, as he has done since his move in 2022 for £46.3m plus £8.4m in add-ons.
Pep Guardiola confirmed the move had all but gone through in December 2021, and explained at the time, “I understand why he wants to leave”, with Barcelona hard to turn down.
The winger, who made the move to Manchester after impressing at Valencia, has played for the La Liga giants 138 times now. In that time, he has 35 goals and 16 assists. The 2024/25 campaign has certainly been productive.
The 24-year-old has scored ten goals and has three assists across all competitions this term. That is more than De Bruyne’s nine goals and assists, and Savinho’s ten goal involvements, suggesting he could have had an even greater impact on this City side.
Stat
Ferran
De Bruyne
Savio
Games
25
26
32
Minutes
938
1428
1941
Goals
10
3
2
Assists
3
6
8
Mins per G/A
72
158
194
Perhaps Ferran’s best contribution this season, and a game that best showcased the talent City let slip, was against former side Valencia.
Barca won 5-0 that day, with the Spaniard getting a hattrick, scoring a variety of goals including one strike where he made a darting run in behind the defence.
There is no doubting Ferran’s ability, something which Guardiola noted after a Premier League hattrick against Newcastle United. The legendary City boss described him as “brilliant” after that night. They were three of 16 goals and four assists, in 43 appearances, he scored in a City shirt.
Looking back on it, perhaps City fans wish their club never sold the young attacker. He was a versatile player who could play anywhere across the frontline and could have done lots of damage for Guardiola if he had still been there.
Where Are They Now
His numbers, which are better than De Bruyne and Savinho, speak for themselves. Perhaps he could have outperformed them this season, had he stayed at the Etihad.
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