Man City used to be well-stocked with world-class full-backs but are now having to call on their central defenders to fill the gaps.
Pep Guardiola made an intriguing tactical call ahead of Manchester City's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
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With Joao Cancelo on loan at Bayern Munich, Sergio Gomez struggling to bed in and Kyle Walker landing himself in trouble last week, the coach fielded four natural centre-backs at Selhurst Park.
John Stones played at right-back, Nathan Ake again featured at left-back, with Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji in the middle.
"I like when we play with four centre-backs, we are so solid, they are stable players, they are so calm and so composed – that's why we defended really well," Guardiola explained after barely allowing Palace a sniff at goal.
However, while his side were solid, they struggled to create many opportunities down the flanks and it took a late penalty for them to grab all three points.
Ake and Stones lacked the pace and verve to do the damage that Cancelo and Walker can do from the position.
Commentating the game for , Gary Neville said City need to address the full-back situation soon in the transfer market.
City's sudden shortage at full-back is all the more remarkable given that Guardiola spent over £200 million ($240m) on full-backs in the space of two years, signing Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo in 2017, and Cancelo in 2019.
As City prepare to host RB Leipzig in their Champions League last-16 second leg, GOAL takes a look at the defenders Guardiola should target to solve this unexpected problem…
Getty ImagesJosko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig)
Gvardiol is strictly a centre-back. But boy does he have the makings of a perfect utility player for Guardiola.
One of the breakout stars of the 2022 World Cup, the Croatian is physically imposing yet technically brilliant, making him an ideal fit for the Premier League and City.
Guardiola would relish turning him into a full-back that can effectively operate as a midfielder, just as he has done with Phillip Lahm, Joshua Kimmich, Dani Alves and Cancelo in the past.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesDavid Raum (RB Leipzig)
Another player City will come up against on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old had to fight his way through Germany's lower leagues to earn a move to the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim in 2021 and only needed one season in the top flight to convince Leipzig to shell out €26m (£23m/$28m) for him last summer.
Raum won the under-21 European Championship with Germany in 2021 and the following year broke into the first team, starting all three matches at the World Cup.
Raum is a more traditional full-back than Guardiola has favoured recently: he loves to fly down the wing and put in crosses.
But given City have arguably the best centre-forward on their hands in Erling Haaland, maybe that is what they need.
Getty ImagesAlex Grimaldo (Benfica)
Guardiola has known about Grimaldo since he was a teenager.
The left-back was breaking into Barcelona's B team in Guardiola's final season with the Catalans and showed impressive ability.
A serious knee injury in 2023 de-railed his progress at Barcelona but he has re-built his career with Benfica and has been one of the Portuguese league leaders' most important players in what is proving a rip-roaring season.
The timing could be right for their paths to cross again.
Getty ImagesJose Gaya (Valencia)
Gaya has been one of the most consistent full-backs in La Liga since making his Valencia debut in 2014 and is Spain's first-choice left-back.
He has resisted offers from the likes of Real Madrid in the past and last year signed a new contract with his boyhood club until 2028.
But with Valencia in serious danger of relegation, Gaya could surely be tempted away to a move to the Premier League and his club, who sold rising star Ferran Torres to City in 2020, could sure do with the money.