Last season, Manchester City was one of the Premier League’s older teams, but they are now a younger group.
Manchester City was ultimately busier during the transfer period than they may have anticipated.
When they had the option to stay, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan both chose to depart for other opportunities, forcing the Blues to look for their replacements. Following that, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, and Jeremy Doku entered the building; center-back Josko Gvardiol was signed just before Aymeric Laporte left.
Although it is too soon to tell whether the new players will be successful, they have already made a sizable difference in Pep Guardiola’s first team squad, bringing down the starting XI’s average age. In addition to falling in real terms, City’s team has aged more than any other in the division, moving from sixth to twelfth.
The Premier League’s four youngest teams last season included Arsenal, but the other three were relegated, and Burnley is by far the youngest team so far this season. This isn’t to argue that the younger the team, the better. The fact that City has accomplished a similar decrease this year to Arsenal, Chelsea, and United minimizes the possibility of the Treble champions being caught off guard. Nevertheless, a club always needs to be aiming to inject youth into the starting XI.
In the Premier League, City’s average age last season was 27.7 (or 27 years and 256 days, if you prefer), and in the four matches that clinched the Treble—Arsenal at home in April, Real Madrid at home, United in the FA Cup final, and Inter in the Champions League final—it was even older at 28. There was a chance that number could have risen further given that eight members of the first team celebrated birthdays over the summer.
However, the age has decreased because to the summer additions and Kevin De Bruyne’s injury. City’s average from the first four league games is below 27, at 26.9, and there is a chance that it will drop once more.
Josko Gvardiol (also 21) will add a lot more to his two starts, and Matheus Nunes (25), should expect some as well. Jeremy Doku (21) has only started one of four league games due to his late arrival. The main winners from Mahrez’s departure and De Bruyne’s injury are likely to be Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez (both 23), Kovacic, who is three years younger than Gundogan, and Rico Lewis, who is 18 years old.
