Ex-Spurs and Liverpool player Robbbie Keane believes that Manchester City are still not out of this season's title race, despite an alarming slump in form.
The Blues have won just one of their past eleven fixtures, and are currently in fifth place in the league, nine points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more.
There have been plenty of set-backs for manager Pep Guardiola, but Keane has dismissed claims that City's aging squad have hit a wall.
Keane told Betway Insider:
"I’m obviously very surprised with Man City’s drop-off this season, but it just goes to show how well Liverpool are doing," said the former Irish international.
"City have had a lot of injuries, which hasn’t helped, but I still don’t think they’re out of the title race. They’ve proven over the last four or five years that they’re the best team, but they definitely have players who are out of form."
He's certainly not wrong about the lack of form! Ilkay Gundogan left for Barcelona in 2023 as the captain of arguably the best English club side of all time, having helped securable an historic treble. However, a year of sun, sangria and tapas appears to have caught up with him, and the German midfielder is struggling to get to grips once more with the pace of the Premier League. Bernardo Silva, who terrorised Real Madrid's defence in the Champions League semi-final, has been run into the ground and is running on fumes. The mind is still willing, but the body less so. The less said about Kyle Walker, the better.
"I don’t think City’s squad is too old, nor do I think they’ve run out of steam. The players are just not performing to the level that they have over the past few years. Obviously, Kevin De Bruyne is getting a little bit older and has been unfortunate with injuries this season, but he’s still a quality player."
It would be foolish to write City off this season, as they often prove people wrong, but it's indisputable that the squad has become too old. Whether that's down to a lack of forward planning, or just complacency, on the club's behalf, remains to be seen but Gundogan, Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne have a combined age of 127. A player of Rodri's calibre was always going to be sorely missed, but seeing other teams' younger, more spritely, midfields running rings around us is painful to watch at times. It's hard not to think that this group of players have hit a wall, unsurprisingly after their remarkable achievements over recent years.
Erling Haaland has also struggled for form this campaign, but Keane has backed the Norwegian striker to turn it around.
"He still has 13 league goals this season so you can never really question his quality. The team around him just hasn’t been creating as many chances for him.
"I had dry spells as a player and all you have to do is keep doing what you’ve always done. You obviously rely on team-mates to create for you, and they haven’t been doing that, but Haaland strikes me as a person who won’t be affected by it. He’s a player who doesn’t touch the ball a lot, so he’s used to that. He’ll still end up with around 30 goals this season. There’s no doubt about that."
With a remarkable 106 goals in 116 appearances for the club, I'd say Haaland is the least of our worries! However, the club's decision not to replace Julian Alvarez looks misguided, with the Norwegian striker having to play virtually every minute so far this season. Even with his diet of raw milk and cow hearts, it has inevitably taken it's toll, so a backup sriker should be a priority for the club in the January transfer window. You'd still back him to win another golden boot this season, even if City don't win the league.