Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to comment on whether he is pushing to sign Brighton defender Marc Cucurella.
City are short of options at left-back after selling Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for £30million, plus a further £2m in add-ons. Guardiola only has Joao Cancelo on the books as an experienced specialist left-back.
Cucurella has long been linked with a move to City, with Guardiola reportedly a fan of the 24-year-old. The feeling appears to be mutual, with reports emerging on Friday that the Spaniard had handed in an official transfer request to Brighton to try and speed up the move.
Asked about the transfer in a press conference ahead of Saturday's Community Shield clash against Liverpool, Guardiola refused to be drawn. “He is a Brighton player. I cannot say anything else,” he said.
Asked more generally whether City would like a left-back, he added: “If it is possible, yes. If not, we stay with what we have. We have enough players who can play there. Joao can play there, Josh [Wilson-Esbrand], Nathan [Ake] can play there.”
According to The Athletic, City have already seen a £30m bid for Cucurella rejected out of hand by Brighton. The Premier League champions are prepared to go up to £40m to acquire his services, but that will still leave them £10m short of the Seagulls’ £50m valuation.
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Brighton sold Benjamin White to Arsenal for £50m last summer and are determined to pursue the same strategy with Cucurella, who enjoyed an impressive campaign under Graham Potter last season. Cucurella played 38 times in his debut season following his £15m arrival from Getafe and Brighton have already tried to negotiate an improved deal for the defender, who is under contract until June 2026.
Given Brighton’s resistance, it seems likely City could move on to explore other options in the position. Guardiola’s side have already signed Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips in high-profile transfers this summer, with Julian Alvarez also arriving after his loan spell with River Plate ended.
City will be without Aymeric Laporte for the Saturday’s curtain-raiser against Liverpool after the defender underwent knee surgery. The Spain international could be out for at least a month after playing through the pain barrier in the closing matches of last season.
“Laporte is injured. He had knee surgery after last season,” Guardiola confirmed. “He played the last two or three games with an important injury. He made an incredible effort to do that but he could not continue.
“So far he is doing really well but you have to be careful because it is a knee. He needs time. I think August he will be out, but maybe in September he will start to be with us.”
