Big spenders Manchester City first ventured into the 2013 summer transfer window by signing Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho. The hotshot from Ukrainian club Shaktar Donetsk cost City £34 Million, with many fans saying his price tag was too much. However, as the season has progressed and Fernandinho has settled in to his new surroundings, he has proved a lot of his critics wrong.
When he first joined, new boss Manuel Pellegrini said that Fernandinho’s style of play suits the English game perfectly, and he was not wrong. Over the course of the season, he has proved he is one of the best at turning defence into attack quickly. When counter attacking, the 28 year old is a real threat for any opposition, as he likes to use his pace and power to beat players, before releasing passes that can split defences open. In the league this year he has created 34 chances, two more than teammate Yaya Toure. With 5 goals so far this season, including one last Wednesday against Sunderland, he’s also chipped in with goals occasionally. Since he’s joined, above anything he’s added pace to the midfield with his high work rate and energy, effectively used when running at defences. He has a superb pass success rate of 88%, higher than Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard who’s pass accuracy is 86%. As well as this, for a relatively short 5 ft 9 player, he’s incredibly good in the air, winning 70% of his headed duels this season.
For the majority of this season, he has partnered Yaya Toure in the centre of midfield, not only causing attacking threats, but being hard to break down defensively. Fernandinho has always been known to be a hard tackler even before his switch to City, and ultimately an effective tackler. On average, he has made 2.3 tackles a game and an average of 2 interceptions per game, really helping City’s defence. He’s often seen using his hard work rate to track back and make vital interceptions or tackles.
Fernandinho is one of the nominees for TBRFootball’s signing of the season, and is the most expensive player on the list. In my opinion, I think his pace, power and hard defensive workrate have really aided Manchester City, and it is no wonder they have scored 91 goals in the league with players like him. However, his price tag might just be too much for him to walk away with the award.
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