Why David Villa Would Be a Great Loan Signing for Manchester City

When Ferran Soriano joined Manchester City in 2012 as chief executive, it was his job to grow the club’s reputation and standing across the world. He’s done an excellent job.

City’s revenue is now at an all-time high of £347 million, according to the club's accounts, and with the financial fair play sanctions that restricted their spending last summer now removed because of their profitability, they are now in a position to compete with Europe’s elite in terms of spending.

One of the most innovative ways Soriano and his colleagues have expanded the City name is by creating the City Football Group, a collective of clubs across the world all bearing the famous sky blue. New York City FC, a brand-new MLS franchise, are the most talked-about, but there’s also Melbourne City in Australia and Yokohoma F Marinos in the Japanese J-League who now also bear the City name.

The benefits of such an enterprise go beyond spreading the City gospel. Sharing player data and scouting information is a clear benefit, as is the ability to loan players between clubs to aid the development of certain players. NYCFC have already benefited from Shay Facey, a City youngster, making the move from Manchester to New York, and there will surely be other such deals in the coming months and years.

With the MLS season operating at different times to the Premier League season, there has been a trend in recent seasons of some of Major League Soccer’s biggest stars joining English sides on loan for a two-month period over December and January.

There’s been talk of David Villa, one of NYCFC’s star names, doing the same, with City, according to James Robson writing in the Manchester Evening News, set to lead the chase given their close links with his current side. It makes sense. It’s barely a risk for City at all, and the boost a striker of Villa’s quality would give the side could be significant.

Villa is still a class act. His movement and goalscoring instincts remain intact. There’s nothing to say he wouldn’t add something different to City, even if it were for just a short period.

David Beckham, who joined AC Milan on two short-term loans during his L.A. Galaxy days, and Clint Dempsey, who joined up with Fulham for two months in December 2012, both showed the positives of such an arrangement. The fresh impetus provided by a seasoned pro can raise the games of those already in the squad.

And it isn’t just his quality on the field that City would benefit from. Villa is a hugely respected player, one who has scored 128 goals in his five seasons at Valencia, before moving to Barcelona and scoring almost 50. He’s also managed close to 100 caps for Spain, scoring 59 in 97 games for his country.

It’s been a remarkable career. The knowledge and inspiration the 33-year-old could provide City’s young players should not be ignored. There are very few players in world football who are still active professionals with the experience of big games Villa has.

His presence around the City Football Academy (CFA), City’s first-team and youth training facility, would be hugely significant.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report in March, his NYCFC manager, Jason Kreiss, said Villa’s professionalism has been remarkable.

"Being around David for the last six or seven months, seeing him work in some training environments where there’s guys that probably don’t deserve to tie his shoes out there training with him, and he’s just going about it the right way, professionally and working hard, it’s unbelievable.

"I just couldn’t be happier about their [Villa and Frank Lampard’s] character and what that’s going to mean for our young players and what that’s going to mean for them being extensions of myself on the pitch.”

He’s scored four goals in 12 games for NYCFC this season. Given the struggles his side have faced—they’ve won just three of their 15 Eastern Conference games and sit bottom of the table—it’s a decent return.

Aside from what he can bring in purely footballing terms, Villa will also bring commercial clout, too. He’s a marketable player, one with a reputation as a genuine star. He’s already featured on a number of City TV videos alongside Sergio Aguero, City’s most widely recognised player, in a bid to promote the City Football Group across the world and grow the City brand.

There’s very little for City to lose. Even if Villa comes in and struggles to find a place in the side—a possibility given the quality of player City are likely to sign during the current transfer window—just having him around the club would be a positive, both commercially and in terms of his impact on the club’s younger players.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.