If the report of Dutch outlet Voetbal International is believed to be true, Manchester City have joined the race for Gabriel Gudmundsson along with Napoli, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund to sort out their left-back conundrum.
The 21-year-old Sweden youth international is enjoying a breakthrough season with the Eredivisie outfit FC Groningen and has registered five assists in 19 league appearances (stats via Transfermarket). His father Niklas had a brief stint with Blackburn Rovers during the 90s, but the former Halmstads BK academy prodigy is tipped to make it big amid interest from the European hotshots.
This might surprise many considering the Skyblues financial supremacy in world football. They have spent billions since Pep Guardiola’s arrival and are dominating the English game once again having lost the title battle to Liverpool last year. The Spanish chief continued the spending splurge to bolster the backline, however, he is yet to find a stable option down the left and has mostly relied on young Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Why Manchester City Are Eying A Move For Gudmundsson
City spent £52m on Benjamin Mendy who could not live up to the hype, also the decision of re-signing Angelino from PSV Eindhoven (by triggering the buy-back clause) did not work out either. The Spaniard has made significant strides with Leipzig though and the Citizens are now exploring the Dutch market once more for the little-known youngster.
Groningen, hailed for their talent pool, have produced an array of superstars of the modern-day game. From Koeman brothers to Luis Suarez, Arjen Robben and Virgil van Dijk – all have attained momentus success across Europe. Manchester City, thus, are keen on winning the race for Gabriel Gudmundsson flexing their monetary muscle power in the summer market and the player, too, holds all the traits to flourish at the highest level.
Guardiola has played right-footed Joao Cancelo as a left fullback who, despite all his efforts, has often struggled to settle in and deliver. The Portuguese has been stupendous in his usual right-back role and the reinforcement, therefore, is essential to resolve the minimal limitation of the star-studded Man City set-up.
Although the Swedish starlet is hailed for his attacking intent, the gaffer might not hand him a starting status straightway. He must impress enough in the training ground to stake a claim in Guardiola’s long-term plan and climb up the ladder to cement his place ahead of the others.
