Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly set to be offered the chance to offload Nicolas Otamendi, with Real Madrid keen on signing the defender.
Since his arrival in Manchester in 2015, the 29-year-old has never particularly established himself as a reliable presence in the City backline.
While he has certainly shown his qualities, a lack of consistency and a habit of making errors has seen him fail to offer the assurances needed at this level.
According to AS, with Pepe set to leave the Bernabeu at the end of the season, the Spanish giants need cover at centre-back behind Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.
Further, it’s added that Otamendi has been earmarked as one of those targets that could do the job, as Real boss Zinedine Zidane wants to add an experienced option at the back with the Argentine international also having the benefit of previously playing in La Liga with Valencia.
With John Stones coming in last summer and with new signings under Guardiola expected in the upcoming transfer market, there are real doubts over Otamendi’s future in Manchester.
Vincent Kompany’s on-going injury problems have given him more playing time that he would likely have gotten if the Belgian was available for selection, and so moving forward there is an expectancy that competition for places will increase.
An opportunity to join Real is surely something that Otamendi won’t be able to turn down, and so if the Spanish giants make their move in the summer, then he could well find himself back in Spain.