Manchester City Have to Get Their Centre-Back Recruitment Right This Summer

After Manchester City won the Premier League title in 2012—the first time they had done so in 44 years—Roberto Mancini set about evolving the team’s style.

Mancini had established a winning mentality, removing the ‘Cityitis’ that had held the club back for so long, but he knew the journey had only just begun. City’s owners were serious about turning them into one of Europe’s elite sides. One FA Cup and one Premier League title wasn’t anywhere near enough.

The team’s style had constantly been improved under the Italian. He took over a side that was struggling badly under Mark Hughes, conceding goals at an alarming rate. He instantly stabilised them and made them difficult to beat, before gradually releasing the handbrake.

After two trophies in two seasons, he wanted to take City to the next level. Nigel de Jong had been allowed to leave in the summer of 2012 after his playing time had been reduced, his game not expansive enough for the direction Mancini wanted his side to go in.

Another victim was Joleon Lescott. Mancini didn’t sell the man who had been crucial to City’s title win, but he had made his mind up City needed a ball-playing centre-half to phase the former Everton man out of the side.

His replacement came in the shape of Matija Nastasic, then 19, who arrived from Fiorentina having played just 50 professional games. Mancini and his staff had been impressed with him and paid £12 million to secure his signature.

It started well, with a memorable debut in the Santiago Bernabeu in a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid that belied his age. Composed, intelligent and a wonderful slide-tackler—City had seemingly unearthed a gem.

That season proved to be a disappointment for Mancini. City’s title defence was weak and they lost in the FA Cup final to Wigan Athletic. Nastasic was one of the few success stories as the team lost its way after two-and-a-half years of constant improvement. He was named the club's Player of the Year in May 2013, but Mancini was sacked and replaced by Manuel Pellegrini, a decision that sparked the beginning of Nastasic's decline.

Nastasic didn’t convince the Chilean. He played just 20 times under him, and he no longer looked the assured, confident defender that had impressed so much in his debut season. It was clear the youngster had been marginalised, a situation made even stranger by the fact Pellegrini had been so inclusive to the vast majority of the squad. No one ever got to the bottom of Pellegrini’s dislike, and Nastasic, ever the professional, was positive about his manager as he left to join Schalke.

Asked by Sky Sports reporters whether there was a problem with Pellegrini, he said: "No, everything was alright. It was hard for me—in six months I didn't play one game. I wanted to go because for my career it's best to play a lot of games.

"I hope they win the Premier League and go as high as possible in the Champions League."

With Lescott also out remaining out of favour under Pellegrini, it left Martin Demichelis, a £3.5 million signing in the summer of 2013, as the first-choice partner for Vincent Kompany, the finest centre-back in English football. After a difficult start, he was superb—a key factor in City’s league-and-cup double in Pellegrini’s first season in charge.

However, Demichelis was never a long-term option. He was brought in as a 33-year-old to steady the ship after Pellegrini failed to land Pepe, his top target.

With City’s attack functioning superbly under Pellegrini—they scored 156 goals in all competitions in 2013/14—bringing in a long-term, top-quality centre-back to finally replace Lescott, who was allowed to leave on a free that summer, was their priority. A world-class defender would surely cement their place as England's dominant force. 

Eliaquim Mangala, one of the most sought-after young defenders in Europe, was signed for big money, initially believed to be £32 million, but it later emerged that he'd cost closer to £42 million thanks to a complicated ownership structure put in place when he moved to Porto.

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The pressure to deliver was huge, and his form was erratic. A fine debut was something of a false dawn as errors soon crept into his game. That led to nervousness, a terrible affliction when a young defender is trying to settle into a new league and new surroundings. With Kompany's form and fitness also a worry, it left Demichelis, once again, as their star defender. This wasn't in the plan, and City once again had to dip into the transfer market in the summer of 2015 after failing to defend their title.

This time it was Nicolas Otamendi who was targeted, a defender who had just enjoyed his best season as a professional having been widely seen as the best centre-half in La Liga in 2014/15. City paid £28 million. This, surely, was the answer to their problems.

But much like Mangala, his form has been erratic. At his best, he looks like a dominant, proactive centre-back capable of nullifying any striker, but far too often his recklessness and tendency to go to ground have cost his side. He lacks a yard of pace, is relatively small and has too often been outdone. 

Whether incoming manager Pep Guardiola can turn him into a consistent performer will be one of the biggest tests of his first few months in charge. Perhaps he needed a season to fully adapt to the fast pace of the Premier League. 

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City have spent around £85 million on centre-backs in an attempt to replace Lescott. As yet, it's been a spectacular failure. The buck where transfers are concerned stops with Txiki Begiristain, and his judgement of defenders is increasingly concerning for the City fans.

This summer, he has to get it right. Alongside new manager Pep Guardiola, Begiristain must identify at least one new, quality centre-back, perhaps even two given the unpredictability of Kompany's fitness. There can be no more costly errors.

Once again, this team needs to evolve, and solidifying the defence is a huge part of that process. 

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_.