Manchester City 2016-17 season review: Results, roster changes, and 2017 summer transfer targets

Expect a lot of new signings.

The recently ended season did not go quite according to plan for Manchester City, who fell short of expectations for much of the season. Various factors like injuries and key players losing form played into that, but the fact remains that Pep Guardiola and City came into the season expecting to fight for multiple titles, and wound up being well out of the Premier League title race and only making one cup semifinal while getting eliminated much earlier than hoped in two others.

But not everything went terribly for Manchester City, and there’s plenty of reason for optimism in the season to come. This is still one of the absolute best clubs in England, and they’re in a very high tier of quality compared to clubs across Europe. They just haven’t quite found a way to take that next step yet, and that will have to be the focus of the coming summer.

What went right

City finished third in the Premier League, which means that they have a guaranteed spot in the Champions League group stage next season. That’s not quite what City fans were hoping to achieve coming into the season, but having that spot locked up now is a lot better than having to go through a playoff or not even having that much for next year.

They also had several players take big steps forward in their development and performance levels this season, most especially midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who had 18 assists in the league this season and was a constant rock for City in the final third. They also saw Sergio Agüero score 20 league goals in his third straight season — not a common thing in the Premier League by any stretch of the imagination — and saw a big, if injury-shortened debut from young Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus. Add in solid season performances from Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané, including some runs of excellent form from each, and there’s a lot to look forward to in the final third for Manchester City.

What went wrong

A whole lot. They got eliminated in the first Champions League knockout round, they got booted from the League Cup by Manchester United, they couldn’t get past a struggling Arsenal side in the FA Cup, and it took a late-season spell of struggle from Liverpool for City to finish third in the Premier League. Once upon a time that would have been an alright season for City, but these days that’s well below expectations, especially in the era of Pep Guardiola being in charge as manager.

Especially with the long stretches of the season where City looked like they were out of ideas and didn’t have any answers for what their opponents were throwing at them, there was a lot of disappointment to be found. Sure, there are reasons for some of that like injuries and some key players struggling for form, but that doesn’t change that fans expected more and are disappointed with what they got.

Reasons for optimism

Their attack is still young, hungry, and improving, with lots of current quality and so much room to grow. Yes, there are some issues elsewhere on the pitch, but their attack could easily take the next step to become the best in England and among the best in Europe with how it’s set up, especially with Guardiola in charge.

And of course, having Guardiola in charge is reason for optimism in and of itself. One of the most accomplished managers in recent European history, Guardiola did a lot of great work to help stabilize City during their darker times this season and find ways to keep getting results even when his squad was far from healthy. Give him a more stable and reliable platform to work from, and great things could happen.

What they need this summer

Manchester City need more young quality and depth in defense and central midfield, two areas where City have been progressively older and more injury prone over the last few years. Even their bigger signings there — like John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan — are guys who have struggled to stay healthy.

Ideally, City would sign four players this summer — two central midfielders, one of whom is a more defensive bruiser and one who’s more of an engine-room type of midfielder who can play multiple roles, but primarily help maintain and improve their possession game. The more defensive player would ideally be of starting quality, where the other would slot into more of a rotation role.

Defensively, they need a center back and a right back, preferably ones who can at minimum push for a starting job. All four players would ideally be around 25 years old and while they don’t need to be of a specific physical type or league pedigree, getting players who already have a track record of strong starting play and a clean bill of health would be a huge plus.

To make room for those four players, a similar number would need to be sold off to make room in the squad. Players like Fernando Reges, Fabian Delph, Jesus Navas, and Nolito are all players on the fringes of the squad who don’t add much value to the team these days, but could still fetch a decent transfer fee if the right teams become interested.

Another spot to consider would be to find a new starter in goal, as neither Claudio Bravo nor Willy Caballero were particularly impressive this season. With this summer shaping up to have a slim goalkeeper market, however, that might be easier said than done, and City might have to shell out tens of millions of more pounds than they’d prefer to get the kind of goalkeeper they would want.