Manchester City want Marc Cucurella, who has been linked with a move to Tottenham during the summer transfer window.
Earlier this month, Spurs were rumoured to be interested in the Brighton defender as they seek to give Antonio Conte the quality he wants at wing-back.
Now, Pep Guardiola is also apparently keen as he looks for a specialist left-back, having used right-back Joao Cancelo and midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko there for much of the campaign.
Branded as a player with an ‘unreal engine’ after his spectacular performance against Arsenal back in October, Cucurella could well be at the heart of a summer transfer battle.
Manchester City want Cucurella
The Mail’s report reads: “Manchester City have targeted Brighton’s Marc Cucurella to fill their problem left back position and will make a £30million move this summer.
“Manager Pep Guardiola said last week he wants to add ‘hungry’ players and the 23-year-old fits the bill.
“Brighton paid Getafe £15.4m for him but Sportsmail understands City would need to find double that to land a player who spent six years at Barcelona’s academy and has been capped once by Spain.
“Guardiola wants a more orthodox left back to provide balance and Cucurella’s age and versatility — he can also play as a wide midfielder — has convinced the City manager to move for him.“
Cucurella has been a revelation this season and at a price of around £30 million, having shown his quality in the Premier League, it is clear why he looks like an attractive option to Guardiola and Conte.
Where would he rather go? At City, he would probably be rotated but he would be part of a squad which competes for every trophy going.
Former Spurs defender Kyle Walker won’t go on forever. In time, Cancelo could go to right-back and Cucurella could make that left-back spot his own for the next decade.
At Spurs, he would likely be a starter right now, and could be part of a squad looking to get to where Conte wants the club to be.
Spurs look set to qualify for next season’s Champions League and that could play a part in Cucurella’s thinking.