Manchester City in the recent past are known to be top club not shy in terms of player recruitment. When there are so many other players coming in, there’ve been much outgoings as well. In making rooms for new recruitment’s, the Sky Blues board have no other option but to let of few players in order to maintain dressing room harmony and a decent wage bill, along with also affording the sidelined player a chance to get his career back on track by moving to a club where game time will come more often.
While Pep Guardiola’s side have had success with some exceptional imports, the have experience a quite few failures as well. However, it would be harsh to call them failures, but some of these players find it difficult to adapt to life in England completely and perhaps weren’t blessed with the tools needed to make it out in the Premier League.
Having mentioned that, most of these players left Etihad Stadium when they were young enough to go make their lives elsewhere and having seen their stock risen in other leagues, a return to the Premier League could well be on the move.
Now, we share with you 3 of the former Manchester City players who couldn’t get used to life at the Etihad, but are ready for new challenges based on what they have done following their exit from the club.
Felipe Caicedo
Felipe Caicedo arrived Etihad from FC Basel at a tender age in the winter transfer window of 2008 amidst much excitement. He was signed for a big future in the game due to his physicality and impressive pace. Caicedo’s first season in the Premier League was all about getting used to England, whilst in his second season, he managed to get himself on EPL top scorers 7 times, impressing many with his hold up play and strength. However, City’s acquisition of Tevez, Adebayor, and Santa Cruz spark the end of Caicedo with City. He was loaned in order to get considerable playing time.
The 28-year-old later moved to Sporting CP, where he find it difficult to adjust to life in Portugal. He was then eventually sold out to Malaga and then Levente, where he finally made a name for himself, bagging 13 goals in his solitary season with the La Liga giants. What came next was a move to Lokomotiv Moscow, followed by a move to the United Arab Emirates. He returned back to his hometown – Spain – in 2014, when he was signed by Espanyol.
He certainly should be on the shortlist of many top host English clubs this summer transfer window as he is more than capable of getting the job done at one of the mid-table clubs, who are in need of a target-man. Caicedo would with no doubt suit a lot of clubs in England, and if he is given the chance, he could yet become a decent Premier League-level striker.
Steven Jovetic
Manchester City signed Steven Jovetic in the summer of 2013 from Fiorentina. Much was said about his move to the Etihad as the transfer fee involved was close to 26 million Euros. He also win a silverware in his first season with the Sky Blues, as they picked both the League Cup and Premier League trophies. However, he was totaling down the pecking order and this is something that irked him throughout his 2-year stay in England.
Failure to establish himself as a first-team regular at City saw him being shipped out on loan to Inter Milan in 2015-16. His move to San Siro was later made permanent as well. However, he while with the Nerrazzuri’s, he suffered the same faith as he finds it difficult to settle down at Italy. In the January transfer window, he was loaned out to Sevilla where he has made huge impact in his short time there, by scoring a few important goals for Andalusians.
By the end of the season, a lot of interest where shown in Jovetic and it is likely he could fancy a return to the EPL in order to prove his worth.
Stefan Savic
Stefan Savic was another player that made the headline with brilliant performances in his solitary season with the Citizens back in 2011-12. Though, he will be happy with one thing as City went on to win the league title that season. However, he left City after one season, to Fiorentina, where he was sold in a swap deal that brought defender Matija Nastasic to Etihad Stadium.
He enjoyed success with the Italian side, where he got used to harsh and demanding conditions of top class professional football. This saw Jovetic earn himself a move to Atletico Madrid, where has impressed as well. Such performances have seen him being linked with a move back to England and at 26-years-old, it could be the perfect time for him to make a come back to England to re-establish himself in those form again.
Guardiola who’s in need of defensive reinforcements could make use of him and it won’t be surprising if they make a move to re-sign him and by no means would that be a bad ideal as Savic has gained adequate experience and understand the game better.