Liverpool and Manchester City are both interested in 28-year-old defender Diego Carlos.
The centre-back, currently playing for Sevilla, is reportedly being targeted by Manchester City and Liverpool for a summer transfer, according to Fichajes.
Manchester City and Liverpool sit first and second respectively for clean sheets in the Premier League this season, meaning their pursuit for a centre-back might confuse some. However, both managers are advocates of squad rotation and like to have depth in every single position of the pitch.
Liverpool have four first-team centre-backs in their squad, with Virgil Van-Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez. The signing of Carlos might see Liverpool trying to sell someone like Gomez, who has struggled for minutes this season.
Manchester City have Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, and Nathan Ake as central defensive options. Without a sale of a centre-back, it’s difficult to see Carlos joining the club.
Due to his age, moving to a team where he might not immediately start every game doesn’t make a lot of sense. He’s an experienced, established player and isn’t going to want to join a club to sit on the bench, even if it’s a European powerhouse.
Newcastle were close to signing Carlos in January, and are expected to try and sign the Brazilian again in the summer, reports Marca. A move to Newcastle would benefit Carlos the most if he wants to play regular football, with Newcastle struggling near the bottom of the table.