Manchester City enter race to sign £45 million-rated Bournemouth defender | OneFootball

Hugo Viana and Manchester City have now emerged as ‘genuine rivals’ to Liverpool for Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez this summer, according to reports.

Last season’s Premier League champions are understood to be on the search for a more natural option in the left-sided full-back role, despite the success seen through Nico O’Reilly and Josko Gvardiol as options this campaign.

However, Pep Guardiola has consistently outlined his belief that both players are stronger performers in their natural positions, with the aforementioned Academy graduate a midfielder, and Gvardiol being a central defensive option.

City have not had a traditional left-back within their ranks since they signed Benjamin Mendy from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017, having won numerous pieces of major silverware with the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nathan Ake, and Fabian Delph in the role.

And with Pep Guardiola’s current squad roster being analysed, scrutinised, and lined-up for a significant rebuild over the course of the coming months and in future immediate transfer markets, it appears as though the time for a natural left-back in the team has come once more.

That has seemingly led club officials to a name in-demand that they will certainly know well, and one they have met on three occasions this season alone, with two clashes against Bournemouth in the Premier League and an FA Cup quarter-final meeting.

According to the information of iPaper’s Mark Douglas, Manchester City want to sign Bournemouth’s highly-rated left-back, Milos Kerkez this summer despite Liverpool having long been considered frontrunners for the 21-year-old.

However, the report reveals that City have now made enquiries for the player and are viewed as ‘genuine rivals’ to the Anfield club for his signature, given the fact that Liverpool bosses are yet to table an official bid despite talks between both sides and the defender’s representatives.

From the Etihad Stadium perspective, the club’s incoming director of football Hugo Viana is described as a ‘big fan’ of Milos Kerkez, who is valued by Bournemouth at £45 million with no release clause in a contract that runs until the summer of 2028.

Other options linked with Manchester City for the left-sided full-back role have been somewhat limited in recent media reports, with an admiration for Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso standing since the January transfer market due to the Italian’s versatility.

There has also been talk of a liking for Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie, although there is an awareness within senior positions at the Etihad Stadium that the North London club would be extremely difficult to persuade into doing a deal.

Manchester City’s Academy ranks were greeted with a new left-back of their own shortly after the turn of the year, after New York City FC’s Christian McFarlane made the move to the Premier League giants after developing in Major League Soccer until turning 18-years-old.