Manchester City are reportedly monitoring Nantes left-back Quentin Merlin for a potential transfer move.
The previous summer transfer window saw the Manchester club sign one of Ligue 1’s most exciting players in the form of Jeremy Doku, who joined from Rennes in a deal worth £55m.
Now though, the Citizens have set their sights on another young talent currently making a name for himself in France.
City eyeing Merlin
According to a recent report from 90 Min, City, alongside fellow Premier League club West Ham United, have got their eyes on Merlin and have even sent representatives to watch him in action.
The report also adds that other European clubs such as Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Celtic, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon are eyeing the full-back as well.
Having worked his way through the youth ranks at Nantes, the 21-year-old has made 73 senior appearances for the French club across all competitions, scoring three goals and delivering six assists along the way.
This season has seen the left-back start all 10 of Nantes’ Ligue 1 games and has managed to show in that time how effective he is on and off the ball.
For example, from an attacking point of view, Merlin has made more progressive passes (58) than any other Nantes player, as well as having the joint-highest total of key passes (11) and carries into the final third of the pitch (20), in addition to having the second-highest number of shot-creating actions (25) and goal-creating actions (5).
Then from a defensive standpoint, the Frenchman has the second-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (28), Merlin also has made more recoveries (68) than any of his teammates and has racked up the second-highest total of blocks (10).
This backs up why talent scout Jacek Kulig has described the defender as a “complete” player and why he has so many clubs looking at him.
