MY ACCOUNT
Manchester City rarely fail to land their man but that turned out to be the case with Marc Cucurella.
The Citizens were unwilling to pay more than £40million for the Spanish defender — allowing Chelsea to seal a £62m deal for Brighton’s 2021-22 Player of the Season on Friday.
That leaves City having to look elsewhere for a left-back this summer, with just a few weeks of the transfer window remaining.
Ahead of this afternoon’s clash at West Ham, we take a look at five alternatives who would strengthen Pep Guardiola’s side.
Alex Grimaldo
City have been strongly linked with Benfica full-back Alex Grimaldo — and they could save a significant chunk of cash in the process.
The Eagles are believed to want just £17m for their No3, who only has one year remaining on his contract.
There have been suggestions that Grimaldo, 26, could even submit a transfer request to force through a deal — such is his desire to move to the Etihad — while the La Masia graduate’s Barcelona background will surely appeal to Guardiola.
Juventus, Barcelona and Newcastle are all thought to have expressed interest in the former Spain Under-21s international, though the Citizens would appear to be in pole position to secure his signature.
Raphael Guerreiro
Another left-back on the Citizens’ radar is Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro.
Reports earlier this summer indicated that BVB would be willing to cash in on the 28-year-old for £17m, in order to replace him with Germany international David Raum.
However, Raum has now joined RB Leipzig, which would complicate City’s pursuit of Guerreiro.
The Portuguese ace is also able to comfortably operate in midfield — making him the perfect replacement for Oleksandr Zinchenko, who joined Arsenal earlier in the window.
Borna Sosa
City could turn their attention to another name on their shortlist — Stuttgart sensation Borna Sosa.
And it is easy to see why, after the 24-year-old’s Bundesliga performances last season.
The Swabians’ No24 racked up eight league assists and only eight players in the division conjured more chances than his 61.
A total of 69 completed crosses also saw Sosa rank third in Germany’s top flight for that metric, while he made an impressive 453 passes into the final third.
But City may have to move quickly to get a deal over the line, with a number of Europe’s top clubs believed to be circling the Zagreb native.
Javi Galan
Barcelona are in the market for a new left-back and are keen on Celta Vigo’s Javi Galan.
However, the Catalan outfit’s financial problems are well documented — so they may struggle to meet the 27-year-old’s £15m release clause.
That could allow City to swoop in and steal a march on Barca, as they look to strengthen their left flank in a particularly competitive market.
No player made more tackles than Galan in LaLiga last season (108), while only Yannick Carrasco (88) and Vinicius Junior (95) completed more take-ons than his 85.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand
Guardiola has previously converted Zinchenko and Fabian Delph into left-backs, so has no qualms about using the tools already at his disposal.
And he hinted at a possible role for academy graduate Josh Wilson-Esbrand, when asked about new signings last month.
He said: “If it [a new left-back] is possible, yes. If not, we stay with what we have.
“We have enough players who can play there. Joao [Cancelo] can play there, Josh [Wilson-Esbrand], Nathan [Ake] can play there.”
Though the 19-year-old has suffered with injury issues in the past, he could be set for a breakout 2022-23 campaign at the Etihad.
The youngster made his Citizens debut against League One Wycombe in last season’s Carabao Cup victory and will be eager to make a big impact this season.
