5 Alternative Left-Backs Man City Could Sign Instead of Cucurella

Ever since the takeover at Manchester City in 2008, there has been a struggle to find a permanent first-choice left-back, going through the likes of Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Danilo, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo, and although Cancelo is one of the best in the world, Pep Guardiola seems adamant on bringing a new left-back, but after the failed pursuit of Marc Cucurella, alternatives will now have to be considered.

After impressing the past couple of seasons for Crystal Palace at a young age, Mitchell has all the qualities to become a starting left-back for a top Premier League side and Pep Guardiola has a great track record of taking players from being a solid Premier League player to one of the best in the league in their position.

This transfer could be similar to the one of Kyle Walker, taking a Premier League proven player, who is already good in his position but has untapped potential, especially offensively, in which in a system like Manchester City’s, he will have a great opportunity to develop into one of the league’s best.

After already missing out on one former La Masia product, another in Alex Grimlado could be a great option for the Citizens, who at 26 could be ready for a move into Europe’s top five leagues after impressing over the past six years playing for Benfica in Liga NOS.

Grimaldo is a very good attacking full-back, registering 32 assists over the past four seasons in the league for Benfica, whilst also bringing Champions League experience to the Etihad, making 30 appearances for Benfica in the competition, which could prove useful to Guardiola, who is also looking to being a young full-back in Sergio Gomez from Anderlecht to develop, meaning this could be seen as a short term solution.

Jose Gaya at Valencia has been on the verge of becoming one of the best full-backs in the world for a long time now, and at 27 years old it could be the time he finally realises that potential instead of stagnating in a dysfunctional Valencia side.

As said before, Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world at taking a player with untapped potential and making them into a starting quality player for his side and Gaya could be just that player, who has all the raw abilities to be a world-class player, but under the coaching, of Guardiola, minute improvements could get him to that player.

If it is a short-term signing Guardiola is looking for, Guerreiro could be perfect for that, as not only is he a quality and proven left-back, he can also fill in multiple positions in case of injuries elsewhere, and at 28 years old, he will bring even more experience to an already experience riddled side.

In Dortmund, Guerreiro has become one of the best attacking left-backs in the world after being converted from a wing-back to a left-back, and could be more suited to Guardiola’s full-back system, which relies on them joining midfield after spending some of his time in Dortmund as a midfielder, which could make him a great short term fit for Guardiola’s side.

The past two seasons have been really impressive for Borna Sosa, which has multiple big European clubs looking at him as an option, and the Croatian could be a good option for Guardiola’s side with his attacking ability already very impressive at 24 years old.

Sosa has managed a very impressive 17 assists in 54 Bundesliga games for a Stuttgart side that has really struggled, so if you put him in one of the most stable systems in world football, it could see him thrive and turn into one of the best full-backs in the league.