Manchester City or Swansea City – Scott Sinclair apparently has a tough choice to make.
If the Daily Mirror are to be believed Scott Sinclair is the subject of an £8 million bid from Premier League Champions Manchester City. Mancini is said to be a keen admirer of the youngster and the money will surely be a tempting initial offer for a player with just one season in the Premier League to his name.
Sinclair excelled with Swansea last season in a front three alongside the impressive Nathan Dyer and hitman Danny Graham. Sinclair chipped in with eight goals and four assists last season, helping Swansea to escape from the predicted relegation dogfight with relative ease.
Called up to Team GB, his cameo performance against UAE showed the ability Sinclair has and his raw pace alone is a threat to full backs. Performances for both Team GB and Swansea City have increased demand for the winger and it appears that big clubs are now taking a closer look.
What must be noted however about Sinclair’s performances last season is that half of his goals came from penalties and he proved wasteful at times in attacks. Whilst Sinclair received all the plaudits, it was his teammate Nathan Dyer who showed pace, crossing accuracy, an eye for goal and excellent skill for the Swans that place the former Southampton trainee in higher esteem than Sinclair amongst Swans supporters.
At Swansea, Sinclair was a part of a fluid system with a game plan to attack the full backs with regularity and place pressure on the opposition in their own half. A move to Man City’s system may therefore prove to be a mistake. At Manchester City he will not be afforded the time to settle in that he has received at Swansea. Any mistakes will be highlighted upon and he is unlikely to be as worshipped at the Etihaad as he is in Swansea.
That’s if he can even get into the team! Samir Nasri, a £25 million purchase from Arsenal last season struggled for regular game time last season and is a player with heaps of ability, far more so than Scott Sinclair. Then there’s David Silva. This could just get messy.
Mancini likes to play a fairly narrow midfield formation with Silva, Nasri and Aguero all interchanging positions leaving little room for a wide man in Sinclair’s mould. Sinclair is able to play in a free role as he has shown in patches for Swansea and loan spells whilst at Chelsea but is simply not of the quality for a team such as Manchester City.
If Sinclair wants evidence that this is a bad move he need look no further than Adam Johnson and James Milner. Both are English players that showed excellent promise at Middlesbrough and Aston Villa respectively, but after promising first seasons for City were consigned to bench spots.
Mancini may have altered his approach and flexibility with his team tactics, in which case Sinclair will prove to be a valuable squad member. Sadly all signs point to the opposite and if Sinclair has any sense he’ll stay put and try to develop his game in a side that compliment him in the way his Swansea teammates do.
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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