Premier League giants Manchester City are reportedly lining up a £30 million summer swoop for Brighton & Hove Albion left-back Marc Cucurella.
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City are targeting Brighton & Hove Albion defender Marc Cucurella as a permanent solution for their left-back woes. The Premier League giants have used Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back this season, but manager Pep Guardiola is eager to sign a more ‘orthodox’ player for the position, with the Spanish defender emerging as a £30 million target.
Cucurella started off as a youth player for Espanyol before joining the Barcelona under-16 side in 2012. The Spanish defender could not break into the Barcelona first-team, making just one appearance for them which came in the 2017/18 Copa del Rey.
The full-back had loan spells at Eibar and Getafe in La Liga, making 106 appearances in the Spanish top flight while scoring five times and assisting ten goals. The 23-year-old moved to the Premier League just last summer, joining Brighton in a £15.4 million deal.
Cucurella has been highly impressive in his one-year stay in England so far, winning the Brighton Player of the Year award for his exemplary displays on the left side of the defence. The Spanish full-back has made 37 appearances for the Seagulls across competitions this season, scoring and assisting a goal each.
Cucurella’s supreme form for Brighton has caught Guardiola’s attention, with the Manchester City boss keen to add ‘hungry’ players to his squad ahead of the next season. The 23-year-old could cost double of what Brighton paid for him and the Cityzens could make a £30 million move for the Spanish international, Daily Mail states.
Guardiola has been especially impressed with the Spanish left-back’s versatility and is thus eager to sign him up this summer. Cucurella, at 23 years of age, could take up the left-back spot for Manchester City for years to come. But they are not the only club tracking the Spaniard with Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea also targeting the full-back.
The Premier League champions have already signed Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and are on the lookout for midfield signings as well. Ilkay Gundogan is reportedly set to leave the club this summer, while Fernandinho’s departure from Manchester City is officially confirmed, which has made central midfield signing another one of their priorities.