According to a recent report by the Manchester Evening News, Premier League giants Manchester City have secured the signing of 17-year-old Brazilian youth international Yan Couto from Coritiba. The report suggests that Pep Guardiola convinced the youngster and his agent with first-team assurances and that the Citizens had to fight off competition from both Barcelona and Bayern Munich for his services. A fee in the region of £10m is what City have paid to acquire the right wing-back. Brazilian giants Flamengo were also supposedly keen on the youngster’s signature.
The Brazilian is said to have made the trip to the Etihad Stadium to meet Pep Guardiola and look around the infrastructure. His agent has now clarified that the Coritiba man will be joining as of July 1st. Speaking on the matter, he said, “We chose to close with Manchester City because of the European project, and the prospect of playing with Guardiola. He’s going to stay on the main team.”
Scouting Yan Couto – The Latest Manchester City Signing
Who Is Yan Couto?
Originally from the Brazilian town of Curitiba, the youngster began his playing career with the local club and has been one of the brightest young sparks in their team’s academy for quite a while now. Born in 2002 and still only 17-years-old, it’s interesting to note that the starlet is yet to make his first-team debut at the highest level. Pep Guardiola has sanctioned this move for the right-back purely based on his performances at the youth level.
It must be conceded that the youngster’s displays at the U-17 FIFA World Cup last year were quite impressive. The full-back has already featured in 13 fixtures for the U-17 Brazilian team, and that must be where the Manchester City scouts identified him as a potential talent. Standing at just 1.68m tall, there’s no denying that the Brazilian is small in stature, but he more than makes up for it with his quality and work-rate.
What Attributes Would Couto Add To Manchester City?
The Brazilian is a quintessential modern day full-back as he’s capable of bombarding forward just as well as he can defend in high-pressure situations. Often seen positioning himself next to the halfway line to get a head start, the youngster is a brilliant dribbler of the ball, and would be a natural successor to Kyle Walker. The Coritiba man also has the ability to deliver top-quality crosses into the box from the by-line, which is one of the essential aspects of Manchester City’s attacking play.
What Could The Future Hold For Couto At The Etihad Stadium?
The full-back positions are ones that Pep Guardiola has had to spend a lot of money on and saying that they’ve found two secure options for the role now would definitely be overstating things. Although Kyle Walker is an English international, his off-field exploits do put a dent in his potential. On the other flank, Benjamin Mendy just doesn’t seem to have the required consistency.
Guardiola has given opportunities to players like Phil Foden and Oleksandr Zinchenko over the last couple of seasons and looking at the current full-back situation; it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Couto being thrown into the mix sometime next season.
