Rumour Mill: Who Is Aly Cissokho?

Like many, I am sick to the back teeth of Alexis Sanchez and all the rubbish (nearly used a stronger word there) floating around the press and twitter about him.  It doesn't seem long ago that we were content with a deadline day swoop for DaMarcus Beasley, or a desperate renewal of Kiki Musampa's loan.  We are now being linked with just about everyone and even when there is no news or no new development the papers are full of mere speculation.


Perhaps it seems strange therefore for me to write about such rumours, well to be honest there are some that make sense, and some that aren't rammed down our throats every 30mins on Sky Sports News, these ones, whilst still probably a load of nonsense are infinitely more interesting and definitely worth thinking about.  My frustration isn't with the rumour mill, it is more with the media regurgitating here-say and presenting it as fact, something that has happened endlessly with Sanchez.


Anyone delving a little deeper into the Manchester City transfer speculation over the last few days will no doubt have come across the name Aly Cissokho, and it was with great pleasure that I saw us being linked with the 23 year old.


The French international is a left back and a pretty damn good one if you ask me.  Currently plying his trade with Lyon he has began to impress many and has attracted attention from a few different clubs, including Liverpool and Arsenal.  Previously he played in Portugal for Porto, and when he left them he very nearly signed for AC Milan only for a strange medical to put an end to the move.  The testing turned up a problem with his teeth that can symbolise potential spine problems.  Milan's loss was Lyon's gain as they shelled out €15million for the left back.


He is noted for being strong, quick, a good header of a ball, as well as having excellent stamina, in a nut shell he is everything that Aleksandar Kolarov isn't.  I recently wrote about how I felt we needed a left back as a priority and that is why I was so pleased to see this story in the press.  Whether there is any truth in it remains to be seen, the Mail reckon we are weighing up an offer of £20million, so he wouldn't come cheap, but if we can move on Jerome Boateng for something close to the £15million mark it may not be such a bad piece of business.

Clearly he is a good age, and has plenty to learn but I think he has all the raw physical assets needed to make it in the Premier League, I personally think he would be a better option than Leighton Baines who would no doubt cost more and probably not be as impressive.


As with all these stories, I feel it right to make it clear that this is probably a load of old tosh, but if it's true, and if this one came off I for one would be pretty satisfied with the deal.  Now let me check the latest on the Sanchez story again.....

Can we focus on our weakest area for a while?

Do we really need another central defender?  Whilst fans of other clubs who don't watch very much Manchester City could 'hilariously' point out, yes we do, so Mancini can field 5 across the back to go with his 3 defensive midfield players.  Rubbish jibes aside, why are we continually linked with new centre backs when there is another gaping hole in our side?

Today sees reports from a couple of different media outlets linking us with Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini..lets quickly run through members of our squad capable of playing in that position: Kompany, Lescott, Toure, Boyata, Boateng, Onuoha, Richards, Wabara and at a push Yaya Toure.  Even if a couple of those players were to move, whether it be on loan or permanently, we still have more than enough to get by.  When the Gary Cahill rumours went quiet, I for one was pretty pleased, I saw no reason for us to strengthen in that area, our defensive record is good, but that doesn't mean the entire backline is solid.

We started this season with Kolarov as first choice left back, with Jerome Boateng also (supposedly) comfortable playing there.  By the end of the season however, I think most City fans were happiest with right back Zabaleta playing on the left side of the defense.  The Serbian defender has had a difficult time this season, and it is strange to me how highly regarded he was before we bought him, supposedly we did battle with Real Madrid to secure his signature.  The 25 year old cost a lofty £16million and he arrived with high expectations, it hasn't quite yet panned out however.

I am not writing the defender off and saying he should be sold, but it is a clear weakness in our side and one that I think really should be addressed.  He arrived with a reputation for being an attacking fullback, and maybe if the offensive side of his game was more impressive we could justify his shaky defensive displays, but he isn't much better coming forward.  His distribution isn't the best, and he doesn't appear quick enough for the Premier League.  He was also lauded as being a set piece expert and also possessing a wicked shot, well he may have managed 3 goals (one of which was a superb free kick against Birmingham) but those pale into insignificance when you consider all the opportunities he has wasted taking on shots from 30 yards out when there have been other options available to him, his delivery from set pieces isn't much better either.

Perhaps surprisingly however I do think there is ability in the player, and I hope we do keep hold of him.  There were some signs of improvement over the closing months of the season and I think with more time in the squad he could develop his game and perhaps become more positionally aware, and possibly more aware of his defensive duties.  That isn't to say however that I think we should go into next season with him as first choice, I think he is good backup but he isn't good enough yet for a team chasing major honours.

Identifying replacements is not particularly straight forward, I think it is time that we had a full back who's main priority is to defend as opposed to attack.  Previously we have been closely linked to Leighton Baines and I think that deal may still come off, but I do have questions about the defensive side of his game, clearly he wouldn't come cheap either and that may put Mancini off somewhat.  Fabio Coentrao and Juan Vargas are other left full backs that we have been linked with but the fact they can both also be used as left wingers puts me off somewhat.

I am not writing this to propose a solution to the left back problem, and it would be better if I did, but one thing is for sure, whilst making moves for Sanchez, Eto'o, Chiellini or whoever else we will be linked too is fantastic, I still can't help but feel that we should be making the left back slot one of our main priorities.