Manchester City are poised to sign one of the quickest players in Europe to bolster their squad.
Pep Guardiola's side are still on course for a historic treble as they come into form in the run-in. The Catalan has re-shaped the side with John Stones as a centre-back moving into midfield – and yet the squad could be set to get even stronger.
A left-back has been high on the priority list for Manchester City in the past year – with Marc Cucurella wanted before his move to Chelsea – and the imminent permanent exit of Bayern Munich loanee Joao Cancelo has arguably only strengthened the need for an upgrade in that position.
According to German journalist Florian Plettenberg, City are stepping up interest for Canadian full-back Alphonso Davies – and are set to compete for Real Madrid for his signature.
Guardiola has used four centre-backs in his backline of late, favouring Nathan Ake at left-back. This enabled City to widen the pitch with a naturally left-footed player on that side, enabling Jack Grealish to invert on that side.
Davies, however, would enable City to play with an overlapping full-back – though the Bundesliga star is capable of inverting to attack, too. With Guardiola always looking to revolutionise his side ahead of the curve, he could switch the dynamics of his team sooner rather than later.
As one of the quickest players in Europe, too, City could possibly have the fastest Premier League star, should they sign Davies. Currently, the quickest player in the division is Liverpool's Darwin Nunez.
Real Madrid are set to rival City for the Canadian's signature, having still not replaced Marcelo. Ferland Mendy is their first-choice left-back – but with the Frenchman injured of late, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga and centre-back Nacho have both stepped in as makeshift replacements.
Davies is valued at €70m by Transfermarkt.
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With Erling Haaland equalling the record of 32 goals in a 38-game season, Pep Guardiola has said that Manchester City are monitoring the striker's fitness "24 hours a day".
Ilkay Gundogan is rumoured to be a major target for Barcelona this summer, while Guardiola has explained why major City stars are being subbed early. One Burnley star has told FFT that Vincent Kompany could manage the Citizens one day.
Meanwhile, one supercomputer has predicted the Premier League title run-in going down to the wire, while another has predicted them to win the Champions League.
