Manchester City are in the market for a new right-back this summer.
The position has not been a problem for Pep Guardiola over the last nine years as Kyle Walker held the role down since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Tottenham in 2017.
Walker will go down as one of the best right-backs to ever play in the Premier League after his time in Manchester, but that is set to come to an end once the current campaign concludes, as the defender is set to leave Man City having joined AC Milan on loan in January.
It remains to be seen if the 34-year-old remains in Italy, but one thing is certain is that Guardiola is keen to replace the full-back, and the Spanish coach already has one in mind.
Man City pushing to sign Flamengo’s Wesley
Man City will find it hard to replace Walker as the Englishman was a key element to the Manchester club’s success during the Guardiola era, however, the Premier League giants believe they may have found one in Flamengo star Wesley.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Man City are pushing to bring the 21-year-old to Manchester ahead of the new season as Guardiola now prefers the Brazilian star over Newcastle’s Tino Livramento.
The report states that City hope to get a deal wrapped up before the FIFA Club World Cup gets underway in June, with the Manchester club’s campaign kicking off on June 18 against Moroccan outfit Wydad AC.
Should the Premier League club get a deal done for Wesley over the coming weeks, the 21-year-old will be the second Brazilian talent Man City have signed during the last few months after Guardiola added Vitor Reis to his squad in January.
Man City have been keeping an eye on Newcastle’s players, such as Bruno Guimaraes and Livramento, but it seems that the Manchester outfit will not pursue the Magpies’ full-back this summer, despite the defender having an impressive season.
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How Wesley compares to Newcastle star Tino Livramento
Wesley is an out-and-out right-back who is fearless going forward, as he can make both overlapping and underlapping runs, which cause havoc for the defending teams.
A trait that Guardiola will certainly like about the Brazilian is that he can play as an inverted full-back due to his ability on the ball, which is something the Spanish coach has demanded from his wide defenders throughout his time at Man City.
| Player | Games | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
| Wesley Franca | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1613 |
| Tino Livramento | 42 | 0 | 1 | 3189 |
Livramento has been a big hit at Newcastle ever since he made the £40m move to Tyneside from Southampton during the summer of 2023.
The 22-year-old has developed into one of Newcastle’s most important players and why the Englishman is attracting interest this summer is not only down to his talent, but his ability to play at both right and left back.
Livramento does both the defensive and attacking sides of the full-back role well, with the Newcastle star stronger than Wesley when it comes to the former.
However, with a contract at St James’ Park until 2028, the defender will require a big fee to be lured away from Tyneside, which is another factor in Man City’s pursuit of Wesley.
