It has been reported that Manchester City-linked left-back Valentin Barco is set to undergo a medical ahead of his transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee of £7.8 million ($10 million).
It was revealed on Tuesday that City decided not to sign the Argentine due to worries about his attitude as he is believed to have had rifts with Boca Juniors’ management.
As tweeted by The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, the 19-year-old, who once looked destined to play under Pep Guardiola is now close to working under Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton.
David Ornstein: Manchester City target Valentin Barco set to undergo medical ahead of Brighton move
In December, it was reported that the 19-year-old’s representatives jetted to Manchester to take a look at the club’s facilities, with the player believed to have had his mind made up about joining City.
Additionally, it was claimed that a deal looked like it was set to come to fruition during the January transfer window.
However, David Ornstein has revealed that Manchester City-linked wonderkid Valentin Barco is set to undergo his medical ahead of joining Brighton in a deal worth £7.8 million ($10 million).
Furthermore, the journalist claimed in his full report for The Athletic that the youngster is currently with Argentina’s U-23 team and is scheduled to have tests from the national association’s training ground.
Barco is expected to sign a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Seagulls, while the report claims there will be an option to extend his deal for an additional year.
Missing out on Valentin Barco is anything but the end of the world
As talented as Valentin Barco is and a potentially brilliant signing for Brighton, whether he would be a success at Manchester City is doubtful.
For starters, whether Barco even adapts to the Premier League is the million-dollar question.
To add to that, the Sky Blues have two solid defensive options at left-back in Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol.
Valentin Barco, on the other hand, is quite an attack-minded left-back and perhaps does not fit into Pep Guardiola’s philosophy of having a rock-solid defence, which was key in his side’s treble win last season.
With more established options in the market, City can simply wait until the summer to sign a player with more experience and a better guarantee of success in the summer.
