With nearly one-third of the campaign done and less than two months from the winter transfer window ahead, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola should be happy with how his team have fared in the Premier League and the Champions League so far. Yet, Guardiola will look at the upcoming transfer window as an opportunity to improve a couple of areas of his squad.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Manchester City have started monitoring the situation of highly-rated Juventus attacker Dejan Kulusevski ahead of the January transfer window.
Dejan Kulusevski, 21, was one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise disappointing 2020/21 campaign for Juventus that saw them relinquish the Scudetto to Inter Milan. He registered four goals and three assists in 35 league appearances, as Juventus scraped a top-four finish.
However, the Swede has struggled to make an impact since the appointment of Max Allegri, starting only two out of 11 Serie A outings. He is understood to be frustrated with his lack of regular first-team football under Allegri and wants to leave the Old Lady in January, reports Fichajes.
And Manchester City are one of Kulusevski’s potential suitors, as Guardiola’s Sky Blues could be forced to enter the transfer market for a wide player amid Raheem Sterling’s uncertain future at the Etihad Stadium.
Sterling, 26, the second-highest scorer in the club’s history, has fallen down the attacking pecking order this season and has expressed his desire to leave the Etihad Stadium if his current situation doesn’t improve in the next couple of months. The English ace has been linked with a January move to Barcelona in recent weeks, with Manchester City willing to listen to bids in the region of £45m-£50m.
Along with Sterling, Riyad Mahrez’s future at Man City also remains unclear, and if both indeed decide to leave the club, Guardiola might need to take a dip in the transfer market for a wide attack. This would make Dejan Kulusevski a viable target for the Cityzens, as the talented Juventus man can play out wide, through the middle and also in midfield.
However, Manchester City aren’t the only club interested in Kulusevski; Bayern Munich are also keeping tabs on the 21-year-old, whose current contract at Old Lady until 2025 leaves Juventus in a relatively strong negotiating position.