With Manchester City’s dominant display over Manchester United at the weekend getting many people talking about the gulf in class between the two sides, one question that Guardiola may want to begin thinking about would be who he should choose to take over permanent ownership of Vincent Kompany’s captain’s armband after the skipper decides to call time on his incredible club career.
Throughout the past decade or so, Manchester City have had many ‘unofficial’ club captains who have played alongside (and sometimes in place of) the illustrious Belgain number four; with the likes of Joe Hart, David Silva, and Pablo Zabaleta having adorned the sought-after capital ‘C’ when called upon. However as many of these household names have now moved on to persue other challenges at other clubs, it seems Pep and his backroom team will have some choices to make once Kompany calls time on his City playing career.
To many, looking towards the younger side of the team makes sense, with the likes of John Stones (24), and Aymeric Laporte (24)
proving already this season to be a commanding and forceful duo at the heart of City’s defence. Both have shown to be incredibly powerful and vocal whilst occupying their defensive roles – qualities that any half-decent future captain would need in abundance.
Cases have been raised too for the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, and Sergio Aguero. With the latter voicing his desire to return to boyhood club Independiente once his City contract runs out in the summer of 2021, it is unlikely that we will see the artistic Argentine fill the role into the future and beyond. It is more plausible however, that KDB could seek to take over where his Belgain compatriot will leave off.
With De Bruyne having cemented his place as a household favourite with City fans, (whilst also being a commanding, influential, and sometimes match-winning presence on the field) I’m sure it would not be a surprise to many if he were to honor the armband for the foreseeable future after Kompany’s sparkling Citizens tenure draws to a close.
But with our current Belgain skipper claiming he still “feels strong” and that he is still “improving and learning so much more about the game”, it could get be some time before he is ready to hang up his club boots for good.
Only time will tell what the rest of Vincent Kompany’s City fairytale has in store, and long may it last.
