Manchester City must do everything in their powers to prevent skipper Vincent Kompany from joining La Liga giants FC Barcelona at the end of the season.
Barca are lining up a summer move for classy Belgium international centre back.
SOURCE: The Daily Mail
Ahead of Monday night’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford, reports have surfaced once again in the British press suggesting that Spanish giants FC Barcelona are considering making an end-of-season swoop for Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany.
Of course, this is not the first time that such stories have surfaced, but now that the Catalans have resigned themselves to the inevitability of long-serving club captain Carles Puyol finally calling it a day some point soon, they have more resonance to them on this occasion.
This is the last thing that under-pressure City manager Roberto Mancini will be wanting to have to deal with at a time when his team are set to surrender the Premier League to arch-rivals Manchester United.
To lose Kompany would be a colossal disaster for Mancini, despite the pair’s disagreements over the centre back’s fitness this season which culminated in a very public spat over Kompany’s participation for his country in a World Cup qualifier with FYR Macedonia.
For a start, finding a top-level replacement for the Belgium international would be no easy task for City – let alone one who would also have the outstanding leadership qualities that the defender possesses.
Simply by comparing City’s resilience when Kompany is part of their back four to when he is absent, and one starts to understand just what a loss the player would be to the club next season.
In fact, part of the reason for City’s limp title defence this campaign has been the absence through various niggling injuries of their inspirational captain, who suffered both a hamstring injury in December followed by a calf strain in January, and on both occasions the club’s form suffered as a result.
Last season, when City won the top-flight title for the first time since 1968, Kompany was a virtual ever-present rock at the back for the club, and so allowing the 26-year-old to move to Barcelona this summer would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
In the age of player power however, the decision will likely ultimately lie with Kompany himself.
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