Liverpool to battle with Manchester City for €75m defensive target

Manchester City are well-known to be on the hunt for at least one centre-back to bolster the club’s options ahead of next season, after the problems encountered in the wake of Vincent Kompany’s retirement last summer.

Pep Guardiola is ready to raid the transfer market in a bid to put Manchester City back on top of the Premier League after failing to keep pace with Jurgen Klopp’s relentless Liverpool this season.

With the summer transfer window due to open in 10 days time, City have been heavily linked with a move for many defenders like Upamecano, Milan Skriniar, José Giménez and Kalidou Koulibaly in recent weeks.

According to the Telegraph, Sevilla central defender Diego Carlos (27) has emerged as a ‘leading’ target in his position for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City this summer.

Report from MARCA via Football Espana is suggesting that Citizens will face competition from Liverpool and Bayern Munich who are also interested in bringing the centre-back to England.

Football Espana note that the Sevilla who have qualified for the Champions League next season are under no pressure to sell the player who has a €75m release clause and who was signed for just €15m a year ago.

Carlos, who was from French club Nantes for a reported £13.5 million last summer, has established himself as one of La Liga’s best-performing centre-backs, registering 15 assists in 34 league appearances. Perhaps more importantly for Pep Guardiola, Carlos has averaged a pass success rate of 84.2% across the league campaign.

Could the signing of Diego Carlos be on the cards? It will be interesting to see what happens. Selling to the highest bidder will surely be a possibility.