Manchester City are looking for a new left-back this summer, and sources can confirm that Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney is on their shortlist.
Pep Guardiola’s side tried to sign Marc Cucurella earlier this summer but were unable to meet his £55 million asking price, allowing him to join Chelsea, leaving them without a recognised left-back following the departure of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal.
Joao Cancelo, a right-back by trade, has spent the majority of his time on the left side of defence, but City want a natural fit for the role to help them defend their Premier League title.
City are looking at a whole host of options and sources have confirmed, that Tierney is among the names to have been discussed at the Etihad.
Guardiola values Tierney’s Premier League experience, but Arsenal are unwilling to part ways with the Scotland international despite signing Zinchenko earlier this summer.
In Tierney’s absence due to injury, Zinchenko has started the season at left-back, but Arsenal’s plan has always been to give the Ukraine international minutes in his preferred midfield role, allowing him to play alongside the Scot.
Recognizing that a deal for Tierney would be extremely difficult – and costly – to complete, City have been considering a variety of other targets.
The Premier League champions are also interested in Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo, a former Arsenal target, and City have been given the opportunity to sign Atletico Madrid’s Renan Lodi this summer.
Meanwhile, City are close to completing the signing of Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez, who, like Zinchenko, started his career as a forward before moving to left back.
The plan for the 21-year-old Spaniard is to loan him out for the rest of the season, but City are said to be willing to keep Gomez in the first team if they fail to sign another left-back.
Sterling comments on lack of gametime at City
The Blues appear to be in a no-land man’s at the moment, struggling to bridge the gap to Liverpool and City while remaining comfortably in the top four.
These issues are not as severe as those at some other clubs, but it is difficult to argue that Stamford Bridge is a more appealing proposition for a player than the Etihad, except in one specific way for Sterling — game time.
The England star confirmed this in a press conference yesterday, telling the assembled journalists: “Since I was 17, I’ve been a regular starter, and to get to the peak time in my career, not to be playing regularly was something I wouldn’t accept. My personality is to try to fight and change the scenario, but it didn’t come, and that was it.”
It was a fairly damning end to what has been a successful relationship between City and the England international. But Guardiola’s concern now might be the butterfly effect of Sterling’s comments, particularly in regard to Bernardo Silva, who is also looking to leave the Etihad.
