Lyon starlet Houssem Aouar has conceded that he would potentially love the opportunity to play for Man City under Pep Guardiola.
The 20-year-old is coming off the back of an impressive campaign in which he bagged seven goals and 11 assists in 47 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit.
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Given the quality he has shown, it has led to transfer speculation, with HITC previously noting that both Man City and Liverpool were interested in him earlier in the season.
When asked about the possibility of a move to the Etihad to join the reigning Premier League champions, Aouar certainly didn’t opt to close the door on the rumours, as seen in the tweet below.
Houssem Aouar asked if he’d like to play for Manchester City: “Wouldn’t you like to play for Manchester City? They are a big European club… then there is Pep Guardiola who is the reference for me in terms of a manager. He sees everything before anyone else.” (C+)
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) May 26, 2019
Of course, it’s one thing expressing a desire to play for City and Guardiola, and another entirely convincing the Spaniard that he would improve his squad in Manchester.
Having secured a domestic treble this past season, Guardiola evidently has a strong squad with plenty of depth at his disposal, and he won’t want to disrupt the balance he’s found in the group either.
Nevertheless, with Vincent Kompany already officially announcing he will leave this summer, coupled with stalwarts such as David Silva and Fernandinho not getting any younger, the only possible concern for Man City and Guardiola is that they’ll have to replace influential figures sooner rather than later.
In turn, they will possibly be looking at the transfer market this summer and try to identify targets to provide those solutions, and on the basis of his comments above, Aouar has done his part to put himself in the mix to get a move to join the English champions.
However, given the HITC report above suggested Liverpool were interested too, it remains to be seen who moves for him this summer, if either club do, with the youngster certainly putting himself in the shop window.
