What Does Manchester City's Midfield Reshuffle Mean for Fernandinho?

There’s been evidence of change in the way Manchester City will play in the coming season.

Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, experimented with 4-3-3 during the pre-season tour of Australia and has also continued using the 4-2-3-1 system he ended the last campaign with. There’s an energy and drive that was absent for much of the 2014/15 season, with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Kelechi Iheanacho bringing urgency and pace to the side.

It’s only pre-season, a notoriously difficult time to draw any real conclusions, but the signs are that the inertia that beset City last year has dissipated, replaced instead by movement and creativity in attack.

Their midfield still needs work, though. Fabian Delph has arrived from Aston Villa, a sensible move that saw City get themselves a player on an upward trajectory for something of a bargain.

Delph possesses many of the qualities City lacked during their disappointing second season under Pellegrini. He’s a box-to-box midfielder whose dribbling is underrated. City have been somewhat flat at times in recent months, and Delph will be seen as the antidote to the problem.

But Fernandinho, the player he is most similar to in the City squad, will not give up his place in the side without a fight. The Brazilian regressed last season after a sparkling debut year at the Etihad, but he remains one of the club’s most dynamic players. Delph is younger and fresher, but Fernandinho possesses more quality when at his best.

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Much of his regression last season was down to tiredness, both mentally and physically, from a draining World Cup campaign in his home country.

The pressure on Brazil to deliver in front of their own fans was significant. Their spectacular failure, which saw them battered 7-1 by Germany in the semi-final, was difficult to take. Fernandinho was seen as a major culprit, withdrawn at half time with his side 5-0 down.

Given he’d played 41 times for City in their league-and-cup winning campaign before heading to the World Cup, it arguably proved too demanding. Players aren’t robots and often too much is expected. He returned to Manchester looking fatigued and mentally exhausted.

His form, as a result, faltered during the opening weeks, but by the second half of the season, as City’s results really began to stutter, he emerged as one of the shining lights in an otherwise dim picture.

His display at Old Trafford during his side’s defeat to Manchester United summed him up. While many of those around him were bereft of ideas and, more worryingly, lacking fight, Fernandinho gave a spirited display full of power and drive. 

The distraction of another international summer tournament was an unwelcome one for City's technical staff. He was involved in all four of Brazil's Copa America games in Chile this summer, and Pellegrini will be keen for him to have a full 30-day rest before being considered for first-team action with City. 

That could mean him being eased into the new season, but Pellegrini will be desperate to get him involved. It's arguable only 4-4-2 wouldn't demand him being an automatic starter. City's other two options—4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3—suit him nicely. 

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The demands placed on a two-man midfield in the 4-4-2 formation arguably require a holding midfielder alongside Yaya Toure, the club's first-choice central midfielder. Fernandinho occupied the role alongside Toure regularly during his first season at City, but given the Brazilian is now 30 and the Ivorian 32, it could perhaps be too much to ask them to offer the same level of defensive and attacking qualities now. 

Fernandinho may have struggled to replicate the sparkling form he showed in 2013/14 when he returned from the World Cup last summer, but it would be a mistake to undervalue him. He remains one of City's most impressive and valuable assets, a player offering both defensive and attacking brilliance. 

He will feel confident of keeping his place in the side, regardless of who City sign between now and September 2. 

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.