It’s been an eventful week for Max Alleyne. After Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias picked up injuries, Manchester City recalled the young centre-back from his loan spell at Watford. From there, Alleyne made his first team debut for City in their 1-all draws with Brighton at the Etihad last night. If last night’s result was disappointing, Max Alleyne’s performance in central defense was full of promise. Perhaps City have discovered another viable option to play in central defense.
In his first start for Manchester City, Max Alleyne looked right at home.
Max Alleyne barely had time to train with his City team-mates ahead of last night’s game against Brighton. But he has grown up within the Manchester City academy since arriving at the club at the age of fifteen from Southampton. So even though Alleyne didn’t know his teammates, he understood how Pep Guardiola wanted his team to play. This stood out when Max Alleyne was in possession last night.
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Alleyne completed 77/83 passes last night (statistics from SofaScore) and he looked calm and composed on the ball. What I liked was that Alleyne never looked troubled when in possession and he has the makings of a quality defender. His passing stood out as he looked at home playing in the Manchester City defence.
Defensively, Max Alleyne more than held his own. Brighton are not a physical team per se, but they have some quick and technical players up front. At the start of last night’s game, Alleyne looked nervous. It was to be expected. But once the young central defender settled into last night’s game, his defensive acumen and physical qualities stood out. Alleyne won 6/7 duels and won 3/3 aerial duels. He also completed three tackles and made four interceptions. Alleyne’s defensive performance was impressive, especially for a player who was thrown straight into the deep end last night.
Although Brighton had their highlights in last night’s game, Max Alleyne, alongside Abdukodir Khusanov, helped keep the Seagulls out apart from Kaoru Mitoma’s equalizer and a few other chances.
Max Alleyne looks to play a role in City’s defense for this season and probably beyond.
With Josko Gvardiol, John Stones and Ruben Dias all injured, Pep Guardiola’s side are in need of another central defender. Nathan Ake and Abdukodir Khusanov are the only centre-backs recognized as fit in City’s squad. Max Alleyne returned from his loan spell at Watford and was expected to be a squad player. But last night he showed on his Premier League debut that it can be much more than that. Alleyne looked comfortable playing in the Premier League and for Manchester City.
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If Alleyne can build on his performance from last night, City may have found another quality centre-back option, which would be a huge positive from their current injury situation if that’s what happens with Max Alleyne for the remainder of this season.
