It has been reported that Manchester City are still in the market to sign an alternative to Declan Rice.
This comes from Fabrizio Romano, who gave his two cents on the treble-winners’ midfield search in the ongoing summer transfer window while speaking to CaughtOffside.
The Italian journalist made the claim that with Declan Rice eventually joining Arsenal, Manchester City remain interested in signing a plan B in place of him.
Fabrizio Romano: Manchester City keen on transfer for Declan Rice alternative
Branded as ‘elite’ by GOAL, it was reported in June that City had pulled out of the race to sign the £105 million (Football.London) man.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side had earmarked the Englishman as the replacement for now-Barcelona maestro Ilkay Gundogan.
Now, it seems like despite having chosen not sign Declan Rice, Manchester City are interested in signing an alternative for him.
“I’ve also had some questions about Man City’s plans for the midfield. We know they made a bid for Declan Rice before leaving the race, and he joined Arsenal instead”, he said.
However, Fabrizio Romano has also emphasised that despite their need to bring in another midfielder to counteract their decision to not sign Declan Rice, Manchester City will not make a signing just for the sake of it.
“City have shown in the past that their strategy is to move for top targets or else they prefer to wait. I’m sure they will enter into talks for a midfielder if they find the top opportunity, otherwise they’ll stay with current midfielders and remember, they signed Mateo Kovacic earlier in the summer.”
Ideal if Manchester City sign another midfielder
While Mateo Kovacic has joined Manchester City already and Phil Foden could also play more centrally next season, one vital reason why an alternative to Declan Rice may need to be brought in is due to the small size of the squad.
Qualitatively, the Sky Blues do not have much to complain about quantitatively, their strength-in-depth is far from inspiring for a side that is expected to compete on all fronts.
The addition of another midfielder would also ensure that Bernardo Silva becomes a right-winger for the entirety of the upcoming campaign, as he is currently expected to play far too many minutes across both the flank and in the middle of the park.
