- Man City interested in left-back
- Other clubs also monitoring
- Could compete with Rayan Ait-Nouri
Manchester City are looking to fight off two Premier League clubs to sign a defender who made his Germany debut last year.
The right-back position has been one which has troubled Manchester City. Once upon a time the club had options such as Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo.
However, Matheus Nunes has had to step in and fill the role this season, while Rico Lewis has seen limited minutes on the pitch.
Interestingly, the latest player to be linked with Man City is actually a left-sided defender, despite Pep Guardiola already having two options in the position.
Man City are interested in Nathaniel Brown
Team Talk have reported that the Citizens are plotting a summer move for Nathaniel Brown, who has made 37 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.
The 22-year-old is also attracting interest from Liverpool and Arsenal. This makes sense as the Reds are set to lose Andy Robertson, while Myles Lewis-Skelly could exit the North London club.
Brown has previously said he is not interested in discussing a move to the Premier League, but that is always going to be the response of a player with four years remaining on his contract.
With this in mind, Frankfurt are looking for a fee of around £56.5m. There is little interest in allowing him to leave, but if Brown pushes for a move then a bidding war is seen as preferable.
What would Brown bring to Man City?
Brown is an attacking-minded defender with four goals and four assists in the Bundesliga this season. He has also registered a further two assists in the Champions League.
The German is very versatile. In fact, he has played in a variety of positions this season, including both sides of defence, on the wing and even in midfield.
This matches the profile of some of City’s current players, as the likes of Nunes and Nico O’Reilly have been able to rotate between defence and midfield.
In Brown, the Sky Blues would be getting a pacey player who likes to make inverted runs and knows how to play a precise pass.
Ait-Nouri will dread the arrival of another left-back
Since arriving from Wolves, Ait-Nouri has done well at the Etihad Stadium. However, he has recently found himself slipping behind O’Reilly in the pecking order.
The England international has not always looked like the ideal left-back, such as the first leg defeat to Real Madrid. Nevertheless, he was brilliant there in the Carabao Cup final, and last weekend against Chelsea.
Even if O’Reilly were to move permanently into midfield, Ait-Nouri would face fierce competition from an exciting and talented left-back, if Brown makes the switch from Frankfurt.
Considering Ait-Nouri has begun to see more of the bench, he may well have his fingers crossed that City miss out on Brown. Or alternatively, that he starts further up the pitch.
