It has been claimed that if Manchester City sign Valentin Barco in January, Pep Guardiola plans to send him on loan to Leicester City.
This comes from the Sun as the rumours about Barco making a move to the Etihad Stadium in the winter window continue to heat up.
In October, even Sergio Aguero admitted that it was inevitable that the Boca Juniors defender would end up signing for the treble-winners.
Pep Guardiola aims to loan Valentin Barco out to Leicester if he makes Manchester City move in January
The 19-year-old would be a welcome addition at Manchester City, considering they lack a natural left-back in their roster currently.
Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake currently occupy as makeshift solutions in the position and while to their credit, they have been brilliant when deployed there, City seem to miss the creativity of an attacking left-back.
However, it has been revealed that Pep Guardiola believes Valentin Barco is in need of more experience, which he could gain under Enzo Maresca’s keen eye at Leicester on loan.
The Catalan legend could get his hands on the youngster in January, with a deal set to be sealed for an initial fee of £10 million, with extra bonuses taking it to £13 million in total.
Even if a move for Barco is delayed until the summer, it seems like the Sky Blues boss’ priority is still to send him out on loan to the King Power Stadium before utilising him in sky blue.
Leicester would be the perfect destination for the Argentine
Making the step up to the Premier League from playing in South America is a challenge for any player, especially one as young as Valentin Barco, which is why a loan move to Leicester for him seems to be prioritised by Pep Guardiola.
In the Championship, the Argentine will get a taste of playing in one of the most physically demanding leagues in the world.
But simultaneously, the teenager will have to adapt to Enzo Maresca’s methods, who is known to play a similar style of play to Pep Guardiola.
Ultimately, Guardiola needs no reminding of how challenging a league the English top-flight is and as a result, it makes sense to assess how the highly-rated left-back performs in the Championship.
Based on Barco’s performances for the Foxes, Manchester City will be in the perfect position to manage his development.
