Manchester City report: Citizens plot £30m bid for Brighton's Player of the Year
Manchester City are chasing Marc Cucurella as they look for a natural left-back
Manchester City have identified Brighton’s Marc Cucurella as a summer target, say reports, after an impressive debut Premier League season for the Spaniard.
The 23-year-old joined the Seagulls from Getafe last summer and quickly became an important member of the squad, making 34 league appearances. According to the Daily Mail, City will make a £30 million bid to sign the former Barcelona defender.
That's almost double what Brighton shelled out a year ago to bring Cucurella to England, but City are eager to bring in a natural left-back.
Joao Cancelo has enjoyed a superb season, but his natural role is at right-back, while Oleksandr Zinchenko has been Pep Guardiola’s other go-to man in the role.
The report points out that Cucurella has won possession 241 times this season, more than any other full-back in the division.
His attacking return isn’t particularly impressive - one goal and one assist - but the one-time Spain international’s impact was underlined in the end-of-season awards.
Cucurella was named Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season, and was blown away by the achievement.
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“It is amazing, not possible in my first season here in this league,” he said.
The Barcelona youth product’s form has helped Graham Potter’s side have a good season, with the club on course to achieve a top-half finish.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.