Man City Running Out of Time as Deadline Day Nears
As the Summer 2020 Transfer Window deadline approaches, Manchester City have yet to sign a prized center back.
The Sky Blues started the summer rather energetically as they swiftly signed Ferran Torres and Nathan Aké. Following these signings at the start of August, however, City have hit a lull period in their transfer activity.
Manchester City have been actively searching for an additional center back in order to fill the void left by former captain Vincent Kompany.
City have been favored to sign Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, but the English club have yet to reach an agreement with the Italians. If the reports are true, this means that Manchester City have been negotiating with Napoli for well over a month on this particular transfer.
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City have also been weighing up their options in case the Koulibaly deal falls through. Atlético de Madrid’s José Giménez seems to be the preferred back-up solution, but Giménez could bring potential problems.
The Uruguayan is rumored to be more expensive than Koulibaly. According to City Xtra, Sports Illustrated’s Manchester City page, Koulibaly is valued at €75 million. In comparison, ESPN reports that Giménez is valued at €89 million, which is an absurd fee for a center back.
There are even rumours which suggest he has a buy out clause in his contract for around €100 million.
Unlike Koulibaly, data from Transfermarkt shows that Giménez’s career has been plagued by injuries. Giménez’s injury history and his price tag would be a risky gamble on City’s part.
Man City Square previously reported that Manchester City have also apparently taken an interest in Internationalize’s Milan Škriniar and Benfica’s Rúben Dias as substitutes for Koulibaly, but the extent to which City have explored either option is unknown.
Overall, should Manchester City look to reclaim the English Premier League title, they will need to bolster their defense. It appears that time may be running out.