Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly looking to sign Bayern Munich full-back Juan Bernat, but will have to pay €20m to secure his signature.
City have conceded 28 goals in 22 Premier League games so far this season, which suggests that something isn’t quite right at the back.
Having leaked poor goals consistently, Guardiola is set to act in January, if possible, and in the summer, to continue to stamp his mark on the squad.
According to AS, as reported by Calciomercato, the former Barcelona and Bayern boss will target Bernat to try and find a solution to his full-back headaches.
Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov are arguably not good enough to carry out the intended ideas that the Spanish tactician has, and further they aren’t getting any younger.
In turn, Guardiola will have to replace them eventually, and it appears as though he has his eyes set on a preferred target as he looks to his former club in Bavaria.
As noted in the report, no full-back is safe the summer as the likes of Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta could also be sacrificed with big changes set to be made, particularly if City fall short of reaching their minimum objective of finishing in the top four and thus qualifying for the Champions League.
It’s fair to say that Bernat is much more suitable to the role that Guardiola demands from his full-backs, and the move would make plenty of sense if it goes through.
However, it won’t be cheap as the report adds that Bayern wouldn’t be willing to negotiate for anything less than €20m and so City supporters may well prepare for a big-spending summer to sort out the problems that are dogging the current team.