Speaking to Onda Cero via Football Inside.net, the agent of Barcelona full-back Sergi Roberto has come out to deny his client’s reported interest in a move to Man City – claiming that the player has ‘no plans’ to make a Premier League switch and would rather stay at the Camp Nou.
City boss Pep Guardiola has been touted to make a huge squad reshuffle in recent weeks with a host of new transfer signings, and defender Roberto was recently linked with a move alongside more highly reported stars like Kalidou Koulibaly, Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres.
What’s the script?
Valued at around £36 million by Transfermarkt, Catalan newspaper Sport claimed last Saturday that the Sky Blues have made Roberto their ‘number one target’ and are even willing to offer promising Eastlands youngster Eric Garcia in a potential swap deal to sweeten the negotiations.
Would you take Sergi Roberto at the Etihad?
Yes, make the move happen
No, we already have Cancelo and Walker
Previously, there was talk of another swap deal occurring between the two clubs with 2019 summer signing Joao Cancelo making way for Nelson Semedo in a straight full-back exchange, but Sport have gone on to state that City have a much more firm interest in bringing Roberto to the Etihad instead.
However, since the news, agent Josep Maria Orobitg has denied any interest from his client as well as expressing his stance that the La Liga club has not relayed any offers for the 28-year-old.
Is he good enough for City?
Now that City’s hopes of landing Roberto appear slightly dampened, especially given the fact he has ‘no plans’ to make a switch according to his agent, should we be cursing our luck or counting lucky stars?
According to WhoScored, the ‘impressive‘ defender has averaged a noteworthy 91.8% pass accuracy over 27 league starts for Barca this season – potentially a key factor to Guardiola’s interest in signing his former pupil.
A versatile utility option, Roberto can also play as a deep-lying midfielder in front of the back four, having the potential to be an alternative option over the likes of Rodrigo, Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan.
The only downside may be his slightly underwhelming defensive stats, with City defender Cancelo averaging over double the amount of tackles per match.
While the Spaniard would undoubtedly prove useful in some areas under Guardiola, it’s fair to say that the right-back slot isn’t exactly a high priority fix given the presence of both Cancelo and England international Kyle Walker.