Manchester City plot surprise move for Wolves star after Guardiola loses trust in 22-year-old star: Reports
According to recent reports from The Athletic, Manchester City are considering signing Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Rayan Ait-Nouri. They reportedly don't fully trust summer signing Sergio Gomez and are therefore looking for another player to provide competition at left-back.
Ait-Nouri was labeled in the report as a plausible target for Pep Guardiola and the Cityzens as they seek to address their issues at the position. He has played a bit-part role for Wolverhampton Wanderers this season, but his impact off the bench has caught City's attention.
He has played 14 games across competitions this season, starting nine of them.
FULL-TIME Everton 1-2 Wolves
Rayan Ait-Nouri's goal deep into stoppage-time moves Wolves off bottom spot, it's a winning start for Julen Lopetegui in the #PL
#EVEWOL https://t.co/TYToz2b5Kl
With City's displeasure at Gomez's development so far, it is understandable that they would want to address the issue. However, Alt-Nouri isn't the only player on Manchester City's radar at this time.
They are reportedly considering other options, including Borussia Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro, Chelsea's Ben Chilwell, and Arsenal's Kieran Tierney.
Rayan Aït-Nouri had 100% true tackle success against Liverpool:
◉ 8 tackles attempted
◉ 8 tackles made
◎ 0 x dribbled past
◎ 0 fouls committed
Not bad when you're up against Mohamed Salah. 😳 https://t.co/GSN2yitQKa
If Ait-Nouri were to depart from Wolves during the January transfer window, it would leave a gap in their defense that would need to be filled. Losing a player who provides depth in defense can be difficult for any team, and Julien Lopetegui may have to search for a replacement if Ait-Nouri leaves.
Currently, it appears that there is interest in Ait-Nouri from Manchester City, but no negotiations or agreements have taken place yet.
Pep Guardiola slammed for criticizing Manchester City midfielder's weight
Paul Robinson, a former Leeds United goalkeeper, has criticized Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola for his comments about midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Guardiola recently left the Englishman out of the squad that faced Liverpool due to him believing the midfielder to be "overweight."
Robinson, however, disagreed with this assessment and felt that the comments were unnecessary. Speaking to Football Insider, the former goalkeeper said:
“I think Guardiola’s comments gave the media a reason to talk about the situation. If Kalvin Phillips is unfit, what does that make the rest of us? I just think Pep Guardiola’s wording was wrong at the press conference. I don’t think it is as big of a problem as it is being made out.”
He added:
“I don’t think Kalvin will have gone back massively overweight. I suspect it was marginal, and he’ll be back at the desired weight by the end of this week.”
Phillips has made just four appearances for Manchester City across competitions this season as he had to deal with a shoulder injury.