According to the latest reports from the Sun, Manchester City are leading the pursuit to sign Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell. The English champions have been linked with the England international number of times in the past, but nothing had materialised.
One would have assumed that after the emergence of Oleksandr Zinchenko and the arrival of Angelino, the Citizens would end their pursuit for a left-back. But it seems like they are set to reignite their chase for him once again. Meanwhile, Leicester City are preparing for life without Chilwell as Brendan Rodgers has asked his scouts to find a suitable replacement for him
Along with City, Chelsea are also said to be interested. However, Lampard will have to wait until the summer to make a move for him. We think that even the English champions wouldn’t be able to sign Chilwell in January given his importance for Leicester City at the moment. The Foxes could reportedly earn £50m for the 22-year-old fullback.
Does Man City need left-backs?
Zinchenko was handed a new contract not too long ago, and it was assumed that he would continue to be the first choice option as long as Benjamin Mendy was away. Mendy’s signing has been a big disappointment, and a dilemma for the Citizens as the Frenchman has hardly been available for selection. He has made a few appearances off late, but he wasn’t even on the bench against Wolves recently.
With three left-sided options available at the club, if Guardiola goes on to sign another left-sided fullback, then there will be question marks about the amount of money he has spent to bolster his fullback options. Joao Cancelo was signed in the summer, and he is versatile enough to fill in at left-back when required. So it is surprising to see City reigniting interest in Chilwell.
Where should Guardiola bolster his squad?
The club should instead look to bring in a central defender in January to bolster their defence. The injury to Aymeric Laporte has been a hammer blow, and the likes of Fernandinho and Otamendi have been exposed at the back in the last few games.
John Stones too has struggled with injuries, and the Citizens have already dropped 8 points from their first eight games of the season. Chilwell is a top option, but he is unlikely to move in January, and we believe that Guardiola has other essential areas to look at in the squad.
