Better signing than Kerkez: Man City keen on signing "world-class" £50m ace
da jogodeouro： Manchester City are already lining up a few transfer targets ahead of the summer transfer window opening on June 1.
da esoccer bet： Florian Wirtz and Morgan Gibbs-White have both been earmarked as potential replacements for the departing Kevin De Bruyne.
That being said, City will have to splash the cash if they wish to land either, as the German is valued at £129m while Nottingham Forest are demanding £100m for their star player.
However, the Citizens are also looking to strengthen at the back.
Man City's search for a defender
Elsewhere, Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is also reportedly emerging as a player Pep Guardiola wants to have at his disposal.
He isn’t the only full-back on City’s radar, however, as a current Serie A star could be on the move to England.
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In January, the Etihad side were keeping a close watch on Juventus defender Andrea Cambiaso, yet no move materialised back then.
Fast-forward a few months and Guardiola is keen to follow through on this initial interest when the transfer window opens, according to the Sun, who state that City still want to acquire him this summer.
Juventus appears to be closing in on a replacement for the Italian full-back, which could boost City’s pursuit of the player this summer.
A fee of around €60m (£50m) will be demanded by the Old Lady, one that is certainly affordable for the Manchester side.
While Kerkez would be an ideal long-term option at left-back, Cambiaso has much more experienced and has even enjoyed a better season from a statistical point of view than the Hungarian…
Why Andrea Cambiaso would be a better signing than Milos Kerkez
Kerkez has enjoyed a wonderful campaign for the Cherries throughout 2024/25, and it is perhaps no surprise the likes of City and Liverpool are looking to test their resolve with an offer.
Since joining from Genoa in 2022, Cambiaso has gone about his business steadily, but offers qualities at both ends of the pitch.
Andrea Cambiaso vs Milos Kerkez this season
Stats (per 90)
Cambiaso
Kerkez
Games
30
29 (29)
Goals
2
2
Assists
1
5
Touches
61.2
59.1
Pass completion
92%
80%
Key passes
1.0
1.0
Dribbles
0.8
0.6
Ball recoveries
3.6
4.5
Tackles + interceptions
1.9
2.6
Clearances
0.6
2.8
Duels (won)
3.1 (52%)
4.1 (53%)
Via Sofascore
There isn’t much between the two City targets, especially regarding attacking metrics, but the Italian does come out on top in a fair few.
Indeed, when assessing data supplied via FBRef, he has registered more shots per 90 (0.63 vs 0.51), shot-creating actions per 90 (3.41 vs 2.26), successful take-ons (25 vs 20) and more goal-creating actions (0.31 vs 0.27) than the Hungarian left-back this season domestically.
Furthermore, the Juventus star has registered a higher pass completion percentage (89.5% vs 75.2%) while winning a higher percentage of aerial duels (37.5% vs 35.2%) per 90 than the Bournemouth youngster.
He was even dubbed “world-class” by European football expert Zach Lowy last season and he could be the ideal fit for Guardiola at City.
Another bonus is his ability to play either on the right or left side of the defence, giving the manager plenty of flexibility when choosing his side. That’s something that the Cherries defender cannot offer. He is solely a left-back.
Kerkez will no doubt go on to have an excellent future in the game, that there is no doubt, but at the current time, Cambiaso could very well be the best signing for the club as they head into a new era next season.
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