Phil Foden and Jack Grealish and two other Man City stars make case for key Pep Guardiola role

As is always the case when Manchester City underperform or drop points, Saturday's 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur brought a familiar topic under the spotlight: City's lack of a striker.

Whatever your view on subject, what is clear is that City will continue to play with a false-nine for most of what remains of the season. The 100 goals the Blues have scored in all competitions this season suggest it's an approach that has served them well.

Somewhat ironically though, false nine is a role that no-one really wants to play. In Guardiola's side it is a selfless task that involves dragging defenders around and creating space for others, hindering the player's ability to fully express himself.

Someone's got to do it, but who does it best?

When Sergio Aguero's injury problems last season forced Guardiola to adopt a false-nine system on a regular basis, De Bruyne was the first man he turned to.

The Belgian put in a brilliant performance in a 3-1 win away at Chelsea in January 2021 that saw City click into gear and run away with the title, his supreme technical ability and tendency to drop deep into midfielder making him ideally suited to the role.

However, De Bruyne's return to form in recent times after some struggles for form and fitness have made it clear that his supernatural passing abilities and vision are wasted playing in the centre of attack.

When City are involved in end-to-end games that require a dynamic presence in midfield, then De Bruyne is that man.

Grealish has played the part on a handful of occasions this season, although that is not how he would've envisaged spending his time in Manchester when he completed a £100million move from Aston Villa.

Grealish has come under a lot of criticism since that British