Is Yaya Toure's Long-Term Manchester City Future as a Holding Midfielder?

Talk of Yaya Toure’s decline, as with many football debates, has often lacked nuance. Two groups, diametrically opposed in their views, involved in a battle to shout the loudest, neither of which will back down nor make concessions.

There are those who see him as a spent force, a player with nothing left to offer whom the club need to sell and move on from. They say he’s in terminal decline and has become a destabilising force, an ageing star who brings an imbalance to the side.

Then there are those steadfast in their defence of him, who believe he remains the same proposition as before.

The truth, as is so often the case, lies somewhere in the middle. Toure is not longer the match-winning star who would do the job of two players with his lung-busting runs. He has become more limited yet remains a player of extreme quality whose ability to produce moments of individual brilliance makes him worthy of his place in the City side.

He needs to be managed more carefully than before, with three games in eight days now sure to affect his performance, but in the right circumstances, he could still flourish and be capable of bringing a world-class element to the table.

However, it is true he can no longer play as part of a two-man midfield, even one with an out-and-out holding player alongside him. He lacks the same dynamism as 2013-14—his finest season to date that saw him score 20 Premier League goals from central midfield, many of them significant in securing City’s first league-and-cup double. He needs to play in a protective midfield to have his usual impact going forward.

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There’s a strong argument to say he is City’s best and most influential player of all time. However, at 32, it’s clear he can’t go on forever, particularly playing in such a high-energy position. There have been times this season when his inclusion has made City weaker, particularly when he’s been asked to play multiple games in a week. His form recently, though, when managed more sensibly, has reminded everyone of his quality.

The answer, then, could be to move him backward, into a holding-midfield role or even to centre-half. He’s played both before, of course, during his spell at Barcelona before he moved to Manchester and underwent a metamorphosis into the most brilliant and feared central midfielder in the game—and it would seem he has the attributes to do both.

He would need more discipline in those roles. Neither is quite as fluid or creative as central midfield, where he is given freedom to roam and cause chaos in the final third with others detailed to ensure they tidy up behind him.

Incoming City manager Pep Guardiola could well agree. He has a record of putting ball-playing midfielders in at centre-half. He likes his sides to play from the back. The 6'2" Toure, the best passer of the ball at the club, also has the physical attributes needed to play there. He would seem an ideal option.

There is a chance he could move, with the lucrative Chinese and American markets an attractive proposition for players of his calibre at his career stage. However, if he does remain at City, and with Guardiola, one of the most innovative thinkers in the game, set to arrive, don't be surprised if his role is altered to prolong his effectiveness.

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Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.