Marc Cucurella was announced as a long-term target shortly after the conclusion of the season with Manchester City looking to find a more natural left-back for that role.
The position has been filled by two players who are not natural left-backs in past seasons, although the performances of Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko have both been high quality enough to be crowned champions.
Now, the latter of the two has left City this summer to join Arsenal leaving Pep short of options. It may be that City was waiting for the money from the Zinchenko sale to sanction an acceptable bid, for which Brighton reportedly won’t accept less than £50 million.
A bid of £30million has been rejected in the last 24 hours with Brighton holding firm on their demands for their star player.
The rejection may force a greater delay with reports in The Athletic claiming that Brighton has open talks with the Spanish international over an improved contract, with any signature likely to end any interest from City.
That would be Brighton’s preferred option given his importance to Graham Potter and the squad. Cucurella proved himself to be a versatile asset for the manager during the 2021-22 campaign, featuring at left-back, left wing-back and left centre-back.
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Now, should he remain down on the south-coast then Pep and his team are likely going to switch targets but who should they sign.
Ben Chilwell, Kieran Tierney and Nuno Mendes have all been mentioned but those signings are unrealistic given the fee and the importance to their current clubs. So who is realistically coming to the Etihad should City miss out on their number one target for that position?