Manchester City last suffered their first defeat in the Premier League in October, when an unusually wasteful away game against Aston Villa saw the Citizens draw away 1-0.
Josep Guardiola’s visiting side would have 15 shots on goal for the home side, but even Erling Haaland’s side tended to be frustrated at various points throughout the afternoon, with Matty Cash’s fierce strike in the first half providing the winner of the day.
Heading into this match, City had scored seven goals at home for the rest of the month, six of which came straight into the net from the deadly Norwegian.
It highlights how much Guardiola’s men rely on clinical Scandinavia to get them out of the crisis. That’s because Savinho, an attacking teammate with no goal in mind, has had a poor season so far in the West Midlands.
Why Sabinho is in danger of leaving the club
Excluding Haaland, only Phil Foden, Tijani Lijnders, Rayan Cherki and Matheus Nunez have scored in the Premier League for City this season.
Sabinho came close to adding his name to Unai Emery’s exclusive list of opponents, but even the No. 26’s two goals in quick succession in the second half could not defeat Emiliano Martinez. Pau Torres also came to the rescue, denying the frustrated Brazilian with an important clearance.
But it wasn’t just the 21-year-old’s lack of clinical edge that frustrated Guardiola after the game, as the out-of-form winger only completed one dribble and failed to register a single accurate cross, despite his usual struggles to dislodge Villa.
City-based social media account City Talk even went so far as to say that Sabinho didn’t offer “anything” at Villa Park, registering just one assist in six Premier League games, another story of his disappointing season so far.
Thankfully, Guardiola also has Jeremy Doku, who can step back on the left, with the Belgian boasting an impressive three assists in the Premier League so far this season.
But he could soon think outside the box when it comes to finding talent to surpass Sabinho, and the raw talent is definitely one to keep an eye on.
An “unbelievable” 17-year-old who surpasses Savinho
The ultra-successful Spaniard is also a manager who is not afraid to test his star players if he deems them ready for the first team, as seen in the way Bury-born Rico Ruiz made 102 senior appearances so far after making a name for himself in the Under-18 and Under-21 ranks at the Etihad.
Raegan Heskey will be hoping he becomes the next up-and-coming sensation and is given some chances in the top flight. The 17-year-old winger has already been described as an “incredible” talent for the future by one of City’s coaches, Ben Wilkinson.
Looking at the flashy highlight reel above, the Liverpool-born attacker stands out as a very direct option in the South American left channel, and he could even be the perfect solution to City’s Savinho problem.
Indeed, in 57 appearances for Manchester’s various youth teams, Heskey has established himself as a tricky forward option and, most importantly, has the goals and assists to back up every trick and flick in his locker, amassing a lethal 31 goals.
As such, he has been likened to other Manchester-born stars such as former Manchester United hero Marcus Rashford, with analyst Ben Mattinson praising his “Rashford-like ability as an inside forward to stretch defences”.
Heskey’s city-wide numbers | ||
|---|---|---|
play level | game | Goal + Assist |
U18 | 31 | 20+8 |
U21 | 14 | 6+1 |
youth league | 12 | 5+0 |
men’s team | 1 | 0 |
Source: Transfermarkt | ||
The next big step for Heskey is to break into the first team. Guardiola actually gave Heskey his first ever senior appearance in this season’s EFL Cup game against Huddersfield Town, with the young Englishman coincidentally playing the final seven minutes in place of the aforementioned Savinho.
Of course, Guardiola won’t completely write off the 13-time Brazil international, considering he has come off a slump since the start of this season with four goals and 15 assists next to his City Sky Blue name.
However, there is no doubt that there will be a temptation to bring Heskey into the men’s team more regularly to give the unconventional attacker a competitive edge, and if the 17-year-old can translate his impressive academy form into the senior game, there is a good chance the 17-year-old could surpass Sabinho in the future.
