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City Transfer Target Evaluation — Part 3 (Right-Back)

By Taras Tataryn

Pablo Zabaleta, a true Manchester City legend, waves goodbye to City fans at the Etihad for the last time.
Pablo Zabaleta, a true Manchester City legend, waves goodbye to City fans at the Etihad for the last time. /
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Djibril Sidibe — Monaco F.C. (French international)

Rating: 8.4/10

Likelihood: 3.8/5

MONACO, MONACO – MAY 3: Djibril Sidibe of Monaco in action during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match between AS Monaco and Juventus Turin at Stade Louis II on May 3, 2017 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
MONACO, MONACO – MAY 3: Djibril Sidibe of Monaco in action during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match between AS Monaco and Juventus Turin at Stade Louis II on May 3, 2017 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /

Another player linked with Manchester City from Monaco, but surely not the last…

Djibril Sidibe is probably one of the players that have been less heavily linked. However at Monaco he has been a more consistent player than the other full-back we’ve been linked with — Benjamin Mendy. This is mostly due to injuries, but nonetheless, he has been a regular in the Monaco lineup, especially in Champions League matches.

Sidibe is the type of player that is able to fly up and down the flank all game. On the flip side, he has had trouble with his defensive game at times. Case in point when Leroy Sane and our attack demolished him and the Monaco defense.

Surely, we want to make sure our full-back signings know how to defend. Nonetheless, Sidibe, at 24 years old. He still has the ability to develop and improve in this area, and has the attacking quality in a full-back that Pep might desire.

Rating Explanation: 

I, personally don’t rate Sidibe as highly as Mendy, Walker, or even Kimmich. Despite that, I still think he would be a massive upgrade to what we currently have. Given that Kimmich and Henrichs are unlikely, and Tottenham won’t give up Walker without a fight, Sidibe might be the man we look to.

The Frenchman lacks the defensive qualities that I would have liked to seen in one of our right-back transfer targets. He is not as strong going forward as Mendy or Walker might be. Nonethless, he is still a solid RB who could help improve our defense in the future.

Likelihood: 

I rate this one as highly likely for two reasons.

First, Monaco might definitely be willing to sell. If you look at the Monaco team, recently, Sidibe has been moved to the left-back and right-mid positions (against Juventus in particular). This is because Mendy had been injured, and Almamy Toure has been pushed into the RB position. Toure might not have the quality of Sidibe at the moment, but he is younger and already looks very assured in this position. Thus, they already have a capable replacement and could well be willing to give away Sidibe for the right price.

Second, as I already have mentioned, 2 of the players that have been heavily linked with us look to be remaining at their clubs — Henrichs and Kimmich. This is highly unfortunate, as they have the quality to be the best in their position. However, I simply don’t see as either of those two leaving. Moreover, Walker won’t be an easy player to pry away from Tottenham, so Sidibe might be our best bet out of all of these targets.

Strengths: 

  • Pace
  • Stature (tall)
  • Strong Tackler
  • Solid passer
  • Strong dribbler

Weaknesses:

  • Commits fouls often
  • Defensive positioning
  • Overall defensive ability questioned
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