Manchester City had their opening bid for Marc Cucurella rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion and aren’t making progress on procuring his signature, so Marca (h/t Sport Witness) believe the Sky Blues could consider an alternative if they’re priced out for the 24-year-old. Alejandro Grimaldo is reportedly on their radar and would be available for a more affordable price than Cucurella.
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City lodged a bid of £30m for Cucurella but had their offer quickly turned down. Brighton have requested £50m for the 24-year-old’s signature, but Grimaldo might be available for a third of the price. Marca say the left-back has an asking price of £16.8m, so he might be a great alternative without breaking the bank.
Grimaldo joined Benfica from Barcelona in 2016 and has gone on to make 246 appearances in all competitions, scoring 19 goals with 50 assists. The Spain U21 international is coming off the back of a prolific campaign too, having a hand in 10 goals from 26 Primeira Liga games, so he’d bring in attacking threat to the squad.
Grimaldo boasts more goals (5) than Jack Grealish (3) and more assists (5) than Ilkay Gundogan (4), so it’s easy to see why City are interested. And with the 26-year-old boasting 58 chances, 170 crosses, 29 clearances, 35 blocked shots/passes/crosses 50 tackles and 29 interceptions, could Grimaldo be better than Cucurella?