Recent reports claim that Manchester City are weighing a move for either Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos or Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte for a move this summer. After a trophy-less season, which saw the affluent Manchester outfit secure a place in the top four spots only in the last week of the campaign, with Arsenal and Liverpool putting immense pressure on them, manager Pep Guardiola is desperate to sign his desired players before the next season ends with similar humiliation.
After the quick buy of Bernardo Silva from Ligue 1 champions Monaco, which cost City a whopping £43m, they are targeting some of the best emerging talents across Europe. However, with as many as two defenders and one goalie already leaving the club owing to their contract expiration, defence remains their most important priority now.
City have conceded 39 goals in a total of 38 league matches, which is pretty poor, compared to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, who have conceded 26 and 33 goals respectively. Although City have mostly let goals in via goalkeeping errors, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has found it difficult to superimpose his philosophy on the available squad.
Guardiola believes the younger a player, the easier he will adapt to new tactics and the exit of Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Jesus Navas and Willy Caballero only reflect that. Both the players in question have proved to be quite impressive in their roles and are a prized possession to their respective clubs.
Laporte is the latest La Liga sensation, who played a huge role in Bilbao’s brilliant season in the domestic campaign. At just 23, he has established himself as a regular in the side. But, his displays are yet to get him a national call-up and given France’s thick core of talent, breaking into the fore is extremely difficult from Bilbao.
A move to City under Guardiola and playing in the Champions League could just be the next big step he needs in his career. An Athletic Bilbao youth product, he had only one short stint with CD Basconia before breaking into their first team. Marquinhos, on the other hand, is an already established name both in France and Brazil. Touted by many as Brazil’s future, the 23-year-old has been impeccable at the back for PSG.
He was unstoppable against Barcelona in the first leg in Paris and Guardiola is a long-term admirer of the player. A Corinthians academy product, Marquinhos has played for AS Roma before PSG picked him up. Getting him will be very difficult as PSG can offer him anything City would. So who is a better option for Guardiola?
