Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on Wolves’ talented defender Rayan Ait-Nouri as City look to finally resolve their problems at left-back.
According to a report from Italian outfit Calciomercatoweb, Manchester City are continuing to monitor 21-year-old Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who boasts a “truly tantalizing profile” for the future, as City boss Pep Guardiola looks to finally have a solution to his long-running left-back dilemma.
Ait-Nouri initially joined Wolves on loan from Angers in the summer of 2020, before his deal was made permanent a year later. He has gone on to make 65 appearances for the Wanderers, chipping in with four goals and eight assists.
The 21-year-old’s attacking prowess and ability to make darting runs out wide have really caught the attention of onlookers. Couple that with his technical ability and pace, and the France Under-21 international has all the attributes to be regarded as an explosive modern-day full-back.
Ait-Nouri recently grabbed the headlines, scoring a late stoppage-time winner in Wolves’ return to Premier League action away at Everton on Boxing Day in what was new boss Julen Lopetegui’s first league game in charge.
The 21-year-old is not particularly having the best of seasons, having played second fiddle to Hugo Bueno for the majority of the season so far, but his recent impact off the bench could see him force his way back into the starting eleven again. Overall, he has played 14 games across competitions this season, starting only nine of them.
Regardless of his lack of game time in recent times, the France youth international is regarded as a highly-coveted talent and has previously been linked with a host of Europe’s elite clubs, including Liverpool, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain.
He was even looked at as a potential Man City transfer target back in August after they missed out on top target Marc Cucurella to Chelsea. The Cityzens eventually ended up signing youngster Sergio Gomez from Anderlecht, but the summer recruit has so far failed to earn the trust of his Catalan boss, who is eager to bring in another player to add depth and provide competition at left-back.
Other than Gomez, City currently have just one option on either flank, with Kyle Walker on the right and Joao Cancelo on the left, although Nathan Ake can fill in there to a reasonable extent if needed.
However, with Cancelo, not a natural left-back, it’s understandable why Guardiola is keen on a new player in that department. In hindsight, the Manchester outfit are perhaps regretting their decision to part ways with Zinchenko somewhat, as he would ironically solve a lot of their issues with his versatility.
Ait-Nouri is not the only option on City’s shortlist. The Sky Blues are also said to be looking at Borussia Dortmund star Raphael Guerreiro, but the Wolves defender has vital Premier League experience at a very young age and more upside than the Portuguese international, which makes the former a more appealing option in the long run.
That said, Guerreiro might be available for much less than Ait-Nouri, given he is in the final six months of his deal at Signal Iduna Park. It remains to be seen who is pursued by City as their priority left-back target next month.
