Yaya Tourè is a unique footballer. There are very few central midfielders who have the same pace, power, passing range and goal-scoring ability as him. The Ivorian powerhouse is also arguably City's most important player.

He's the man that dictates City's tempo and controls the game as well as retaining possession, not to mention his marauding runs forward where he is almost impossible to stop. This season however, he's had a significant drop in form. At the end of last season he had an amazing 20 goals and created nine assists, compared to just eight goals and the lowly one assist this season. The former is definitely one of the best seasons for a central midfielder in Premier League history.

Yaya's agent, Dimitri Seluk, has recently come out and said "It's 90% certain Yaya will leave City this summer." Tourè has been heavily linked with Serie A side Inter Milan, where he would reunite with former City boss, Roberto Mancini. Rumours of La Liga giants Real Madrid and an unknown Premier League club being interested in his services have also surfaced.

In the wake of all this uncertainty surrounding Yaya's future, I have set about finding some suitable replacements for the ageing Ivorian. I'll start with the most obvious option, Paul Pogba.

Pogba is one of the biggest prospects in world football, he can emulate French central midfielder greats like Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira (who is currently City's U21 coach) if he lives up to his outstanding potential. Physically and technically, he is very similar to Yaya. They both share the same pace, power and goal- scoring ability that makes them so dangerous. Pogba is still a very young player and so will obviously have some flaws in his game, for example City's Tourè replacement must be able to dictate and retain possession, but the 22-year-old is not yet able to control or keep possession to the same extent as Yaya. This is why I think Pogba should come to City not as a direct replacement, but as a player they simply can not afford to miss out on. It won't be easy acquiring him though; Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Real have all shown interest so City have a fight on there hands if they want him. Likely price: £60million pounds plus+

Next on my list is Borussia Dortmund midfielder, İlkay Gündoğan. This may come as a shock to some but in my eyes, he is the most suitable replacement on this list. The German was arguably the best central midfielder in world football back in 2013, but unfortunately he had a very long-term injury that kept him out for a whole year. Gündoğan is now back from injury and is close to the form where he was being lauded left, right and centre. He is a brilliant player who dictates from deep and finds team-mates with his unreal passing ability, he doesn't score as many Touré or Pogba, but is always heavily involved in the build-up of attacks and goals. Likely price: £20-25million 

The last player on the list I will look through in depth is, Bayern midfielder Thiago Alcântara. The 24-year-old Spaniard has everything you could possibly want from a centre mid. He can dictate, retain possession, bomb forward and score goals. He is however, the most un-realistic target on this list. The only way City can have any chance of getting him is if they also acquire Pep Guardiola from Bayern Munich. Pep is a huge fan of Thiago and it is no surprise Pep brought Thiago with him when he left Barcelona for the Bavarians. Likely price IF Pep were to leave: £35million

In my opinion, the best way to replace Yaya Tourè would be with two players. Gündoğan and Pogba. Gündoğan would bring the technical side and Pogba the more physical side, I have no doubt in my mind that a midfield consisting of these two could be one of the best in Europe. Heck, if you add Fernandinho and make it a midfield three, City would be serious UEFA Champions League contenders.

Other suitable replacements include Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere and City's U21 holding mid, Seko Fofana.