Pep Guardiola is in no mood to stall as he is getting his deals done even before the transfer market is officially open. They have already signed Bernardo Silva from AS Monaco and are close to landing Ryan Bertrand from Southampton. But that is not the end of their spending spree as Pep Guardiola is now looking at one of his former colleagues in Douglas Costa.
The Brazilian winger is right up there with the best players in his position in Europe at the moment but shockingly, he has failed to establish himself in the first team under Carlo Ancelotti, the current coach at the Allianz Arena.
With just 23 league appearances to his name, most of which came from the bench, Costa has just seven goals and nine assists in all competitions and lack of game time has seen him decide to quit Bayern this summer. Ancelotti is also ready to sell and the likes of Liverpool are already looking at him as a possible addition.
However, Guardiola is now reportedly eyeing a move for the 26-year old to improve his options in attack. With blistering pace to burn and an exceptional technical ability to show for, Costa is Brazilian in his blood and knows all the tricks and skills in the book. He is strong and has learnt the art of hold up play really well and surely, he will walk into the first team at the Etihad if Pep managed to lure him to England.
Costa is valued at around £40m, which should not be a problem what so ever for Manchester City but the already many options in attack that Guardiola has, might not convince Costa of enough game time. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva and Nolito are all options on the wing for Manchester City and it is hard to see Costa fit in unless they decide to sell more than one player.
His movement in the final third is exemplary and he is one of the hardest players to mark in one on one situations but Costa needs a club who can play him in every game and City might not be the best place for him.
Playing under former manager Guardiola might be tempting but his quality and abilities on the ball deserve to be on show every week and City will have to make sure that they make enough space for him to lure him to Etihad. If they are able to, Guardiola is surely not going another season without silverware.
