Defending Premier League champions Manchester City are looking to sign Real Madrid full-back Ferland Mendy in the upcoming transfer window at the end of the season. The Citizens are looking at a number of potential exits from the club, with Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, and even Joao Cancelo, who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, believed to be on their way out.
Although Pep Guardiola does have a number of reinforcements in defence, they do lack depth in the full-back department, with no recognisable specialist. Veteran Kyle Walker might have established himself as a Premier League great at right-back, but can also slot in at the right hand side of a back three.
Cancelo, who has had tremendous success at the club, has reportedly fallen out with Guardiola, and could be sold even if Bayern do not exercise their 70 million euro buy option at the end of the loan tenure.
Such being the case, Manchester City have reportedly recognised Ferland Mendy as the best option to slot into Cancelo’s position, which now at times is being filled by academy product Rico Lewis.
Mendy is an out-and-out attacking full-back, and has cemented his place in the Real Madrid back four. An exceptionally skilful player on the ball with a flair for the spectacular, he might not stand out as the perfect fit for Guardiola’s side, but has the potential to be a game-changer should he make the move to the Etihad.
It remains unclear if Madrid will be willing to sell Mendy, given that at 27, he is perhaps in the prime of his career. However, the Frenchman’s injury record will be playing on the minds of the Los Blancos management, and could convince them to take an impending 60 million offer.
The player’s opinion on the move is still unknown, as is Guardiola’s, given that the transfer is not in the advanced stage. It could be an interesting move for either party, given that he is likely to get uncontested playing time if the situation surrounding Cancelo does not change.
