Manchester City have every reason to be satisfied with their summer business so far, with Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri all addressing priority positions in their squad.
Reijnders revealed his conversation with Manchester City centered around the Sky Blues needing to sign a brand-new eight, a position he will now likely play for them next season.
Similarly, Cherki is set to replace Kevin De Bruyne, even if City do not view the Frenchman as the sole successor to the Napoli superstar.
With Manchester City lacking a natural left-back in their ranks, Ait-Nouri’s addition could prove to be an excellent one next season.
But City still need to sign a right-back to replace the outgoing Kyle Walker but Tino Livramento is happy at Newcastle United and has shown no willingness to play his football elsewhere despite their interest.
Man City should make a move for Tottenham star Djed Spence
While Manchester City hold Livramento in high esteem, if he ends up staying at Newcastle, Djed Spence could be an excellent alternative for Pep Guardiola’s men for a number of reasons.
Firstly, at the backend of last season, Guardiola played two high-flying full-backs in Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly, a role that would suit Spence as he first came to prominence as a right wing-back at Nottingham Forest.
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Catalan tactician might have to stick with such a setup in the following campaign as well if he intends to play both Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden in the same side as Cherki, with the pair potentially deployed as a pair of inside forwards.
Spence’s crossing, ability to carry the ball over large distances and direct approach first came to light when Forest beat Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup in 2022, traits he still has in abundance.
Ait-Nouri could be tasked to hug the touchline on the left flank and the £20 million (BBC Sport) man could perform the same role on the right-hand side.
Secondly, the Tottenham Hotspur man is brilliant defensively as well, blessed with searing pace, a knack for timing his challenges perfectly and balancing aggression and a calculative approach in one-v-one situations.
Furthermore, Spence is equally comfortable playing on both flanks and Pep Guardiola has a history of fancying versatile players, from Philipp Lahm to Joao Cancelo.
While Manchester City are interested in signing Wesley Franca as well, it might be safer to sign a Premier League-proven right-back instead who can deliver in the here and now.
Pep Guardiola gave Djed Spence an important piece of advice
After Manchester City’s 1-0 victory against Tottenham last season, Guardiola revealed he gave Spence some advice.
Pep Guardiola said via talkSPORT: “Why do you run too much? You should be more calm.”
“[Destiny] Udogie is quite similar, the pace of this team is difficult to… Maybe Liverpool, but they are unbelievable, unbearable, and every time they have the ball and run, they’re unstoppable; Spence, Pedro Porro, Udogie, [Dejan] Kulusevski, Son [Heung-min].”
Perhaps Guardiola might instruct Spence to be calmer on the whole if he were to ever sign for Manchester City.
However, with Thomas Frank now Spurs’ manager, perhaps the Englishman would like to prove his worth under the Dane instead of looking for an exit.