All defenders signed by Pep Guardiola in Manchester City so far

Bengaluru, Aug 3: Pep Guardiola has had resounding success during his time at Manchester City but that has come at a big cost.

Since taking charge of the City squad, the Spanish tactician has almost completely overhauled the squad with only Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero remaining from Manuel Pellegrini's time. Guardiola has mostly taken special care of his backline spending almost £300m+ on his defenders.

But in the recently concluded season, his backline mostly backfired which saw him finishing 18 points behind leaders Liverpool while also crashing out of FA Cup.

Now as per reports, Guardiola is likely to again accelerate plans to rebuild the backline with two defenders being heavily linked. Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly and Bournemouth's Nathan Ake are the most talked names at present.

These two signings could again stabilize Guardiola’s ship and made them a serious challenger for the title back again next term.

However, how has Pep's defensive recruitment been so far? Here we have taken a look and analysed their performance so far:

John Stones - £47.5m

Once highly rated by many, the English defender has not fully developed since his Everton days. He was one of Pep's first record signing who started brightly but has faded in recent years with his error-prone nature.

His game has often been irked with losing possession and miss passes. The 26-year-old has featured in only 16 Premier League fixtures this season and has struggled to earn his manager’s trust. There's even talk of him getting sold if there's any right offer.

Oleksandr Zinchenko- £1.7m

The Ukraine international was signed only for the reserve side in 2016 and he was not expected to feature at left-back. But the midfielder adapted well to the unfamiliar position when deputising for Benjamin Mendy. He has had a fair share of first-team opportunities under Pep this term also with 19 Pl matches. The youngster could have a long future at Etihad given his gradual development.

Benjamin Mendy- £49m

Frequent injuries coupled with a few too many errors has somehow made the left-back position in the side vulnerable. In his absence, Zinchenko has served pretty well and if Pep fancies a move for a new left-back he could be sold to fund a move.

Kyle Walker- £45m

The 30-year-old this term may have had a dip in form, but when he signed for the Cityzens in 2017, he was regarded as one of the best players in the League. The English right-back served pretty well under Guardiola in the last three years, playing a big part in the league winning campaign. His well over 100 appearances under his belt for City speaks volume of his influence in the team.

Danilo - £26.5m

The fullback signed for City coming off a Champions League team - Real Madrid. In his two years stay, he never truly held down a first-team spot. He only filled in the fullback roles right across the back four when Guardiola needed him. But he managed to win league titles in the process.

Aymeric Laporte - £58.8m

By far and away one of Pep's best signing ever, the French defender was influential from his very first day since signing for the club in January 2018. He won the Premier League in each of his first two seasons with City. And this term, he missed almost the full season with injury and the backline completely falters without him. There is a strong feeling among the fans that the title race could have been different had he not sustained that injury.

Angelino - £5.3m

Angelino first signed for City in 2013 but after three successful loan spells was sold to PSV Eindhoven in 2018. There he had an impressive campaign so City activated their buy-back clause to bring him back to the club last Summer. But after a very brief spell again in City colours, he was sent on loan to Germany with Leipzig where he is likely to contrive a permanent move.

Joao Cancelo- £60m

Things have not gone according to the plan for the Portuguese fullback who was signed for Juventus for around £60m. He, however, has featured in just 17 PL appearances and seemingly struggling to adapt in the Premier League. City would love to see him succeed but if the right offer comes Pep may provide him with a way out to utilise that fund elsewhere.