After Benjamin Mendy suffered another injury setback this week, Man City boss Pep Guardiola reportedly wants to sign a replacement left-back.
The 24-year-old underwent surgery on a knee injury this week with no official timescale for his recovery mentioned by the club.
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Having missed seven months last season due to an injury in his other knee, it’s a nightmare setback for the Frenchman who has shown when fit that he is evidently a top-class player and an influential part of the Man City squad.
However, as Guardiola and his men go for major honours again this season, they arguably can’t afford to merely fill the void with squad players capable of showing their versatility and playing at left-back.
In turn, The Sun claim that they’re targeting Real Betis star Junior Firpo who is said to be valued at around £44m and is also of interest to Arsenal who have had their fair share of issues at left-back too with the likes of Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac proving to be injury prone.
The 22-year-old has impressed so far this season, scoring two goals and providing two assists in 13 appearances in all competitions.
His defensive solidity coupled with his work-rate and ability to offer a great attacking outlet down the left flank arguably makes him perfect for Guardiola’s style of play and system, and so it’s easy to see why he has reportedly emerged as a transfer target for the reigning Premier League champions.
Nevertheless, it will surely be a difficult decision to make for the club, as ultimately by signing a top player like Firpo, it would raise question marks over Mendy’s ability to get back into the side when he returns from injury.
With that in mind, time will tell if City are willing to splash out on such a transfer, or if they do try and find another stop-gap solution and wait for Mendy to recover.