Losing Rodri and the Community Shield on the same day is not the way that Enzo Maresca would have wanted to start his reign as Manchester City manager.
Arsenal picked the Citizens apart, exposing the work that still needs to be done by sporting director Hugo Viana before deadline day arrives later this month.
Rodri’s departure is only set to add to his to-do list, but Viana will be hoping to see Ayyoub Bouaddi solve that problem. Man City are now reportedly edging closer to finalising their deal for the AS Monaco midfielder, which could be worth as much as €100m (£86m).
|
Man City’s transfer targets |
Club |
Position |
Why Man City want him |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ayyoub Bouaddi |
Lille |
Midfielder |
Highly rated young midfielder with the technical quality and versatility to develop into a key player. |
|
Enzo Fernández |
Chelsea |
Midfielder |
Proven Premier League midfielder offering progressive passing, energy and quality in the final third. |
|
Malo Gusto |
Chelsea |
Right-back |
Versatile full-back capable of contributing from both defence and midfield, offering pace and attacking quality. |
|
Pedro Neto |
Chelsea |
Winger |
Direct, explosive winger who can provide pace and one-on-one threat in City’s wide areas. |
Of course, Bouaddi is not the only name on City’s radar this month. The Manchester club have also turned their focus towards Maresca’s former club, Chelsea.
The Blues set a deadline of last Friday for Man City to sign Enzo Fernandez for a hefty £120m, whilst City’s move for Pedro Neto has also stalled. That leaves just Malo Gusto as one to watch and unlike the other two, City’s interest has not gone away.
The right-back position was a problem under Pep Guardiola as soon as Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker departed. Eventually, it was Matheus Nunes who completed an admirable job, but he may yet find himself redundant if Maresca gets his man.
Gusto is still just 23 years old and would solve City’s problem for years to come. Maresca often trusted the Frenchman in the absence of Reece James and that trust could be enough to earn a move to the Etihad.
As reported by TeamTalk, Man City have now made contact to sign Gusto, reigniting their interest after initially eyeing the right-back at the start of the summer window.
Like other Chelsea stars, though, the defender will not come cheap. Those at Stamford Bridge are demanding more than £70m to sell the 23-year-old and it remains to be seen whether City value him at the same price.
They’ve certainly not been afraid to spend big in their first summer without Guardiola, making Elliot Anderson their most expensive signing ever at £116m and closing in on a big-money deal for Bouaddi. The question they must ask themselves is whether Gusto is worth such a hefty fee.
|
Premier League per 90 25/26 |
Matheus Nunes |
Malo Gusto |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
2,865 |
2,267 |
|
Assists |
0.16 |
0.12 |
|
Tackles |
1.79 |
2.10 |
|
Duel success |
58.8% |
53.7% |
|
Recoveries |
5.31 |
4.84 |
The numbers suggest that there would certainly be close competition between Nunes and Gusto. The latter, even at more than £70m, would face quite the fight on his hands to gain that starting spot.
The bad news for Nunes is that the Chelsea man has already performed well under Maresca in the past and that trust would go a long way in the manager’s new role.
