Champions Man City are set up to dominate English and European football for years

After four hugely successful years under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City remain one of the youngest squads in the country

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Sport

Stuart BrennanChief Manchester City writer

07:00, 12 MAY 2021

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 17: Phil Foden of Manchester City celebrates with team mates (L - R) Rodrigo and Ruben Dias after scoring their side's first goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester City at Goodison Park on February 17, 2021 in Liverpool, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Jon Super - Pool/Getty Images)

The bad news for Manchester City’s rivals is that the Blues are perfectly set for success for years to come.

After clinching the Premier League title when Manchester United lost to Leicester last night, and securing their first Champions League final appearance, as well as winning the Carabao Cup, City have established themselves as undisputed top dogs in England and one of the premier clubs in Europe.

Three wins out of four in the league is the kind of dominance only racked up by dynasties, rather than shooting star teams who briefly shine and then burn out as quickly as they come.

Only the great Liverpool and Manchester United sides have managed three title wins in four years in the post-war period, with Arsenal (1930s) and Aston Villa (1890s) doing it before that.

But that has not happened, and with City this summer completing the evolution of the team from the title-winning outfits of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, to Pep Guardiola’s multiple champions, they are set for even more success.

Sergio Aguero is the last of the iconic Mancini 2012 team to leave, when he bids a tear-stained farewell at the end of this season, while the evergreen 36-year-old Fernandinho will be the only man standing from Pellegrini’s 2014 side if, as expected, he signs a new one-year deal.

The Brazil star’s presence in the squad will keep the average age of the squad artificially high, but when Aguero leaves he is set to be replaced by a younger man - with 20-year-old Erling Haaland uppermost in City’s thoughts as a replacement, while 18-year-old Liam Delap is also pencilled in for a place in the first team squad.

With Cole Palmer and James McAtee also catching Pep Guardiola’s eye this season, the Blues can bolster the squad from within and drop the age profile.

City’s current squad has an average age of 26.2, making it one of the four youngest squads in the Premier League - and of those four, only Manchester United (26.1) are challengers to City.

With neither club likely to make extensive forays into the transfer market this summer, those age profiles are not likely to change much.

But the departure of Aguero means City’s average age will go down to 25.9, which is only matched by Wolves.

With Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus, Ferran Torres, Rodri and Oleksandr Zinchenko all aged under 25, there is already a nucleus of young players who are yet to hit their peak, while John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Ederson, Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva are all in their mid-20s.

Stones is the only one of those players with a year left on his contract this summer, and his agent is currently talking to City about a new long-term deal.

Riyad Mahrez has two years left, but as he has turned 30, City will assess him nearer the expiry time - on current form he is a shoo-in for a new deal.

Sterling and Jesus, along with Ben Mendy, who all have two years left, also have question marks over them, but plenty of time to prove they are part of the long-term plan.