Manchester City secured the signature of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace during the January transfer window. And it could go down as one of their best additions in recent history in terms of impact and value.
The England international is a more than competent defender, who is comfortable in possession. That’s a must in a Pep Guardiola side.
Guehi has adapted seamlessly to Guardiola’s system at Man City. And it’s made even more impressive by the fact he’s had to switch from playing in a back three to a back four.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Possession reliance increasing
Guehi has always been a player comfortable with the ball at his feet. But his reliance in possession has signficantly since his move to Man City.
The Englishman averaged 53.2 passes attempted per 90 minutes in the league at Crystal Palace, but that has jumped to 86.5 in his four games under Guardiola.
As mentioned, Guehi has had to adapt to a different style. He’s tasked with getting the ball into the likes of Rodri, rarely bypassing the midfield as he would at Palace. Guardiola has trusted him with a primary role in his build-up, with Guehi having 14.91% of Man City’s passes since his arrival, with only Rodri having a higher percentage.
With Guehi involved, Man City have had 55.32% possession on average, compared to Palace’s 44.79% with him in the team. It’s a huge contrast that Guehi has been forced to deal with.
An adaptation period would be expected when switching to such a different style. But Guehi has fitted in with ease when it comes to the in-possession demands of a Guardiola team.
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Defensive exposure
Of course, when deployed in a Palace side who have less possession, Guehi spent more time with his side being out of possession. But the Eagles are usually in a settled block, sitting deeper looking to absorb pressure.
At Man City, Guehi is more exposed to opposition transitions with his side enjoying more possession and pushing more bodies into the final third.
At Palace, Guehi would be sat in a deep back three whenever Oliver Glasner’s side didn’t have the ball. When they were in possession and further up the pitch, Guhi would still have the luxury of being sat in a back three in their rest defence.
At Man City, Guehi is more exposed. Guardiola pushes his full-backs up high and his No.8s get into advanced positions with two centre-backs sat behind Rodri. So it points back to it being a real shift from the style he’s used to playing in.
How has Guehi improved Man City?
Man City have actually improved offensively since Guehi arrived. The Citizens have averaged 2.08 goals per game across the season as a whole, but it’s 2.25 in the four games since Guehi arrived.
This is perhaps due to Guardiola allowing his players to play with a little more freedom to get forward, knowing Guehi offers protection at the back. Man City have conceded 0.18 Expected Goals per game from fast breaks across the season. That’s halved to 0.09 in the games Guehi has played.
Guehi allows Man City to be comfortable in different game states. He has been involved in plenty of backs-to-the-walls fixtures during his time at Palace. It’s something the likes of Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol haven’t been exposed to very often in recent years.
If Man City do need to sit deep and defence their box — even if that’s a rare occasion in the Premier League — we could see Guehi benefit them even further. This could come in handy in the latter stages of the Champions League or late in the Premier League title race.
When defending less than he has done previously, it would be easy for Guehi to lose concentration. It’s something that impacts a lot of players, often goalkeepers, in possession-dominant sides.
When constantly having to defend, your mind is laser-focused on keeping the ball out of the box or goal. But when you’re predominantly only having to think about defending in transitional moments or in short, sharp bursts when the ball is turned over, it’s a real psychological test to be ready for any moment.
Adaptability
Over the last few weeks, Guardiola has utilised natural full-backs, with Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri looking to hold the width. In Man City’s rest defence, Guehi is usually in a back two. But he’s capable of being utilised in different roles in and out of possession.
Guardiola has been known to use inverted full-backs at times during his managerial career. In this current Man City setup, it could work with Guehi in multiple ways.
The Englishman is capable of playing in the centre of a back three if the right-back inverts. If the left-back inverts, Guehi can move as the left-sided centre-back. It would resemble Palace’s defensive setup, and the role Guehi played in it.
Guehi’s versatility gives Guardiola plenty of options in terms of setting up his defensive structure. Although we haven’t seen the Man City boss tinker too much of late, there’s no doubt we’ll be seeing some changes before the end of the season.