Manchester City Transfers: 5 Players They Must Sign

3. Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma)

In a smart bit of business, Roma managed to nab young midfielder Nicola Zaniolo as part of the deal that took Radja Nainggolan to Inter Milan in 2018.

Such promise did the now 20-year-old Zaniolo show in his breakout campaign last season, he went on to make his first two appearances for the senior Italy team in a 2018/19 that saw him emerge as one of the brightest young talents in Serie A.

Ideally utilised in an central attacking midfield position, the 6'2" Italian loves to influence play in and around the opposition's box. With impressive close control, great vision, and an eye for goal himself, many in Italian football are already comparing Nicolo Zaniolo to Roma's iconic Francesco Totti.

Pep Guardiola loves nothing more than a technically proficient, intelligent midfield player, and Zaniolo definitely ticks a lot of the right boxes. Additionally, he's also just as comfortable playing out on the right as he is centrally.

With David Silva set to depart The Emirates at the end of the 2019/20 season, somebody like Zaniolo could well be a perfect fit for City - particularly as a pairing of him and Phil Foden could have Citizens fans purring for the the next decade.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.