An obvious replacement.... maybe it's staring us in the face

[Skip Donoghue]

No....i have no doubt he could play there, but it isn’t his game, we would lose his influence further forward as has been stated, but the biggest thing is his defensive qualities, what makes Fernandinho so good at the role is his awareness of danger he sees it very quickly KDB wouldn’t in the same way Gundogan doesn’t always see it when he plays there, KDB could do it short term, but eventually he would lapse, get caught to far forward out of position etc etc, pretty much in the same way Delph has been caught out at left back it’s ok short term but sooner or later a player filling in will get caught out
For further evidence of a player playing out of position look at Chelsea with Cante, he’s gone from possibly being an outstanding defensive mid to being an average midfielder who’s been forced to play further forward
Round pegs should always go in round holes and square ones in square holes, where possible, if not it can only be short term otherwise there will be issues at some point

 

[kinky's boots]

No....i have no doubt he could play there, but it isn’t his game, we would lose his influence further forward as has been stated, but the biggest thing is his defensive qualities, what makes Fernandinho so good at the role is his awareness of danger he sees it very quickly KDB wouldn’t in the same way Gundogan doesn’t always see it when he plays there, KDB could do it short term, but eventually he would lapse, get caught to far forward out of position etc etc, pretty much in the same way Delph has been caught out at left back it’s ok short term but sooner or later a player filling in will get caught out
For further evidence of a player playing out of position look at Chelsea with Cante, he’s gone from possibly being an outstanding defensive mid to being an average midfielder who’s been forced to play further forward
Round pegs should always go in round holes and square ones in square holes, where possible, if not it can only be short term otherwise there will be issues at some point

I say we should bring back Kante...

 

[blueparrot]

City fans think that a deep midfielder has to be a Nigel de Jong / Delph in the strong tackling mode.

I think I agree with them to an extent. Fern has got both sides to his game. But you are obviously right - we went for Jorginho in the Summer and he is no Kante or Fern. KDB could play the deep playmaker role like Alonso at Bayern

No he couldnt’t and why would we try, Jorginho is nothing like KDB, and the player we get will be more Jorginho than KDB.

 

[Bayblue]

I’d love to see it just to have a 3 of KdB, Dave and Bernie !!!(with Foden off the bench). What a midfield trio

 

[mccity]

People won't remember, but there were games last season that whenever we were desperately looking for a goal KDB would sometimes drop into the role. It normally required us to be all over them at that stage of the game, but he would play a role as close to what people mean refer to as the quarterback role as I'd seen. Both his ability to drive up the pitch long ball ability from deep is insane as we know, and seeing/having the whole pitch ahead helps that. Southampton away last season the most recent example.

Obvious issues stem from that it's never been a 90 minute thing. Mainly, we're not going to be on top pushing for a full game which means there are going to be plenty of moments KDB would need to offer a different skillset.

However, I'd like to make a (controversial?) point on Fernandinho that is as great as he is now, he's a significantly better performer for us than he was last year (especially going forwards), which in turn was significantly better than the year before that. That's credit to him, but my point is that over time he developed into the player he is through hard work, learning to play a role in Pep's system and being patient with his development. So what I'm saying is that if there were a long term possibility of playing KDB there then he absolutely could play the role. He'd need to learn a bit about defensive positioning and MAYBE develop a faster short passing game, but considering he has a base skillset and more importantly an excellent Fernandinho-esque workrate then there's no reason why he can't. Same for Bernardo, although it might take him longer to adapt.


On a short term level, no. Maybe if there's a major benefit (or desperate need) to having that specific player in the role then sure but otherwise you're wasting a good attacking player as others have said.

 

[AshtonBlueMooner]

No, no and no. CDM is not KDB position, he's attack minded and would not suit that deeper role. Obviously I have the benefit of Peps comments too, KDB is weak defensively, but that's not the point, when fit and firing on all cylinders KDB is the best CAM in the Premier league and probably wider. Why would we try and deploy him in a deeper role and lose the attacking drive he gives us? So, in answer to the question, No.

 

[The Stockport Iniesta]

No, would take to much away from his game. There's also the point that he might not want to play that position long term.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Only one player anywhere near Dinho's level and that is Kante , might be worth making a cheeky bid and bunging his agent when the Russian sacks Sarri in a couple of months.

 

[Machiavelli]

Play Ederson there.

 

[ctid1894]

Only one player anywhere near Dinho's level and that is Kante , might be worth making a cheeky bid and bunging his agent when the Russian sacks Sarri in a couple of months.

Kante just isn’t good enough in possession. He hasn’t got the natural body positioning to be able to receive the ball in tight areas, his passing is too safe and predictable but the biggest thing for me is that he hasn’t got the tactical intelligence.

I think he’s a great player I really do, he’s someone the fans would love because of his attitude and commitment but he plays on instinct, I don’t think that’s good enough for us. For Liverpool he’d be first name on the team sheet because they play a different style and need a different skill set, I just don’t think he’s got the right qualities for us and our style of play.