Manchester City Rumors: 3 Positions City Need to Shore Up This Summer

One can never look too far into the future, and that's certainly the case where Manchester City is concerned.

Right now the Citizens look likely to lose their Premier League title to rivals Manchester United, and they were poor in Europe.

City will need to strengthen some positions during the summer to finally perform in Europe and continue to challenge domestically.

Roberto Mancini failed to acquire his key targets during the summer and that has shown. The new signings have failed to make a significant impact.

Here are three positions City needs to shore up this summer.

Joleon Lescott had to shrug off transfer speculation during the January window and may have to do so again in the summer (via Sky Sports).

Whether or not the Englishman leaves the club, Manchester City will have to strengthen the central defensive area.

This will be especially necessary if Roberto Mancini continues to experiment with a 3-5-2 formation.

Pablo Zabaleta has been used as one of the three defenders, but a new central defender would allow him to play out wide. 

With Kolo Toure getting up there in age, that leaves Vincent Kompany, Matija Nastasic and Joleon Lescott—if he stays—as the regular senior options.

Adding another central defender would bring depth and flexibility to Mancini's side. 

Scott Sinclair has been a non-factor for Manchester City this season, and it's more than likely that he'll leave during the summer.

Right now David Silva, Samir Nasri, James Milner and Sinclair fill the roles out wide in a 4-4-2 formation, with Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez adding more options in a 4-2-3-1.

All of these players, minus Sinclair, are better off in central positions, though Milner has his fair share of experience out wide.

Aleksandar Kolarov can also be used wide on the left, and that may indeed be the solution if City decides to enter the market of a left-back.

City needs to have variety in its attacking moves.

Having at least one player, someone better than Sinclair, that is a natural wide player would certainly help the club. 

Of the four players that usually fill Manchester City's central midfield roles, only Gareth Barry comes close to being a deep-lying playmaker.

Yaya Toure is a box-to-box man, Jack Rodwell has yet to shine and Javi Garcia is a defensive midfielder with solid passing ability.

City needs another player like Barry that can be solid enough defensively but unlock opposition from a deeper role.

Daniele de Rossi has been linked to the club in the past and Roberto Mancini could make a move for him (via Metro).