Benjamin Mendy is currently suspended by Manchester City ahead of a trial for alleged rape and sexual assault, so Oleksandr Zinchenko is the only natural left-back Pep Guardiola has in the squad.
And with the City manager not trusting the 25-year-old to be a regular starter (15/38 Premier League appearances in 2021/22), he’s forced to scour the transfer market for a replacement.
Marc Cucurella popped up on City’s radar after impressing in the Premier League this season, so the champions are in talks with Brighton & Hove Albion to sign him permanently this summer.
Kevin Campbell believes he’d be an excellent acquisition, telling Football Insider: “Cucurella is a really good player. I watched him for a few seasons and I was really impressed.
“When he went to Brighton I was interested to see how he would get on. He loves intense football. He has proved to be a real success at Brighton. I am not surprised to hear that Man City are interested in him, to be honest. It will be interesting to see if they get him.”
The 23-year-old joined Brighton on a five-year deal from Getafe, setting them back £16.2m. He’s gone on to make 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal with two assists, creating 42 chances, making 28 successful dribbles, blocking 51 shots/passes/crosses, making 65 clearances and averaging a tackle (93) or interception (30) every 25 minutes from 35 league outings.
Cucurella may cost City more than £45m but has all the attributes to be an effective left-back, so he could be worth the outlay.
In other news, Yan Couto should leave Manchester City this summer