Nicolas Otamendi will finally solidify Manchester City’s shaky back line

Manchester City finally have their new defender, snapping up Argentina international Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia on a reported £32 million deal. It’s a big, big signing for City, who have struggled in defense over the last couple of years as they’ve searched in vain for a partner for Vincent Kompany.

City spent big money on Eliaquim Mangala a year ago, but his performance wound up being too volatile. The same flaw haunts Martin Demichelis, who is also getting up in years and has lost almost all of his mobility. Worse, they’ve had a lot of issues with their midfield not being up to par defensively, putting even more pressure on the back line. That never ends well.

Fortunately for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, their midfield has been much improved early in the season. With a fairly consistent performer in Otamendi next to Kompany, their defense should firm up as well. Otamendi’s not the biggest, strongest or most athletic defender around, but he has a rock-solid positioning sense and feel for what he needs to be doing in a given moment. Those instinctual elements to his game are wildly underrated. Add that to extraordinary technical ability the Argentine has shown over the years at Valencia and Porto, and this looks like a smart pickup for City.

Having Otamendi’s calm and reliable presence will help take a lot of pressure off Kompany, who struggled last season trying to cover for defensive partners that weren’t getting the job done. That should free Kompany up to focus on his own game and get back to the elite level he’s shown before. If he does, that alone will justify Otamendi’s fee and will make Manchester City a much, much tougher team to beat.