Manchester City opted not to sign another striker during the summer transfer window and Danny Mills admits “replacing Sergio Aguero has always been an issue” for those at Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola faced plenty of calls to bolster his attacking ranks before the latest deadline passed. He chose to ignore them, with City’s recruitment efforts focused on the opposite end of the field.
Big money was invested in Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias as the Citizens sought to plug defensive leaks.
Mills believes the right areas were prioritised, with funds only able to stretch so far, but concedes that finding a suitable successor to the club’s all-time leading goalscorer – whose contract expires in the summer of 2021 – remains a source of concern.
The former Blues defender told GentingBet: “Replacing Aguero has always been an issue for Manchester City, because how do you replace him? [Gabriel] Jesus is a very good player who works very hard but he’s not Aguero and if Aguero is missing for any length of time, you do worry a little bit about City.
“However, I think the fact that they've tried to address their defensive issues more than anything else with Dias coming in, that was where they had to sort themselves out because that's what cost them last season, especially in the Champions League.
“I think they've got enough strength in depth and enough quality going forward. Then Guardiola will always find a way to work that out whether he plays a false nine or however he plays it, it’s just defensively where they need to tie it up.”
Portuguese centre-half Dias has been acquired to help address those faults, with a club-record £62 million ($80m) deal put in place.
At 23 years of age he is already being tipped as the man to fill the Vincent Kompany-shaped void at the Etihad, but Mills is wary of expecting too much from a player still learning his trade as he adjusts to life in new surroundings.
The ex-England international full-back added: “Dias isn’t as good as Kompany, who was just magnificent, as a person, as a player, as a leader and as a captain. He was absolutely outstanding, with his mindset, he was Manchester City’s answer to John Terry.
“I think the Dias can build a relationship with [Aymeric] Laporte and if they can build a really solid foundation, which I think they will do, City will have a much better chance of winning more trophies this season.”