Selecting Manchester City's Best Midfield from Options at the Club Right Now

Manchester City struggled last season to recreate the brilliance of their previous campaign. The wonderful, free-flowing attacking football that landed them a league-and-cup double in manager Manuel Pellegrini’s first year in charge was replaced with insipid, disjointed performances that saw them end the season empty-handed.

There are likely to have been some full and frank words exchanged in the close season. Txiki Begiristain, the club’s sporting director, is the man in charge of signing players, and he must take a portion of the blame given City are widely acknowledged to have underachieved in the market last summer.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the club’s charming chairman, will have led the investigation into what went wrong. Mubarak has consistently appeared to be a calm, measured man, and, as a result of his patience, Pellegrini and Begiristain will be given another opportunity to prove last season was a blip rather than indicative of their usual performance.

One area in need of a revamp is City’s midfield. It lacked dynamism and inventiveness at times last season. With Yaya Toure now 32 and Fernandinho also turning 30 earlier this year, perhaps an injection of youth and pace is needed if City want to bounce back to their best.

There’s been a lot of talk about Paul Pogba, the 22-year-old Juventus midfielder making a serious impression on the European scene. Rarely has a young central-midfielder emerged and looked quite so readymade for the top of the game.

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He has everything: pace, power, remarkable stamina, technique and goals. He can contribute to both attack and defence, and is capable of driving teams forward with his surging runs. He looks like the natural heir to Yaya Toure’s throne.

The problem City face is the competition for his signature. Pogba could well end up at the centre of one of the fiercest battles for a player in recent memory, with all of Europe’s top clubs likely to be interested. There are very few guarantees City will land him.

Marco Verratti is another who looks set for greatness. He, too, is just 22 and last season looked superb, both domestically and in the Champions League, for Paris Saint-Germain.

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He’s something of a rarity in the modern game: A player capable of sitting deep and dictating play, orchestrating attacks with his wonderful passing, but also one who adds bite and tenaciousness defensively. He’s arguably just what City need.

Again, though, he won’t be available without a fight, and whether City can prize him away from the French capital remains a mystery.

James Milner’s exit on a free transfer to Liverpool has certainly left them looking somewhat light on numbers in midfield, increasing the need for reinforcements still further. Milner will be a big loss. He has an unglamorous reputation, known more as a workhorse than a player blessed with any great skill, but those who have watched him closely and consistently know different. He's been an asset to City and will likely fulfil the same role at Anfield. 

So what is City’s best midfield setup with the players they currently have?

If we assume they will continue next season with the 4-2-3-1 formation which they ended the last campaign with, and consider the five players in support of Sergio Aguero, the lone striker, to be their midfield, their best lineup given their current options would see a central-midfield pairing of Fernandinho and Toure sat behind Jesus Navas on the right, Samir Nasri on the left and David Silva operating centrally in a No. 10 role close to the Argentine.

Bleacher Report: Formation Builder

There are, of course, a few issues with that lineup. Nasir's form late last season dipped, a continuation of the inconsistency that has blighted his time at the club. When he is good, there are few better in the City squad at holding on to the ball and retaining possession, but too often he has periods of ineffectiveness. 

After being subbed off at half-time in the Camp Nou in March, he's rarely featured, a rash kick out on Dani Alves one of his last memorable acts of the campaign. He needs to find the form he showed in December and maintain it throughout the season or risk being frozen out for a more considerable length of time. 

There are question marks, too, over Navas. His attitude is first-class, and the defensive discipline he shows is remarkable and too often ignored. He brings pace and width, and despite the quality of his final ball being repeatedly criticised, he continues to set up more goals than anyone else in blue. 

He's a superb squad player, well worth the £14.9 million City paid to prize him away from Sevilla, yet a feeling persists he perhaps starts too many matches. If City want to be one of the best sides in Europe, he needs to become less involved in the starting XI on a regular basis. 

For games against the biggest, most technically gifted sides, though, City have an alternative option. Fernando, an out-and-out defensive midfielder, can come in alongside Fernandinho, with Toure moving further forward into the No. 10 role. Silva could then go back to his position on the left, which he has played many times for the club, with either Nasri or Navas taking up a position on the right.

Bleacher Report: Formation Builder

With Toure now 32, operating as a No. 10 would perhaps suit him more, given it places less physical demands on a player than his current box-to-box role. His remit would be much narrower, with a focus on impacting the game in the final third.

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That does, however, see Silva shifted wide, a familiar role for him, but he excels in a central position. Playing your best player in his best position may seem a basic paradigm but it's one which makes sense. Silva has to be where he can inflict the most damage for City to be at their very best. 

Even without embarking on a spending spree, City have decent midfield options, but given their ambitions, which are to win back the Premier League and go further in the Champions League, they currently lack the requisite quality.

Only by signing some genuinely top-class players can they ensure a better performance next season.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.