Stephen Kelly has said that in his opinion, Manchester City could go out and sign a brand-new left-back in the January transfer window.
On BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily (10/12/2023) show, he addressed Josko Gvardiol’s displays in the position so far and felt that he would be more useful to his side as a centre-back.
Recently, even Jamie Carragher said that the youngster looks “awkward” playing as a left-back.
Stephen Kelly says Manchester City could sign a new left-back in January
Gvardiol’s performance against Luton Town perhaps summed up his time at the Etihad Stadium perfectly.
Largely, the Croatian was excellent, both defensively and offensively but in the build-up to Elijah Adebayo’s opener, he failed to cut out Andros Townsend’s cross, reinforcing the fact that he is not a natural left-back.
Now, Stephen Kelly believes Manchester City could end up signing a new left-back in January as well.
“I was just going to say it, I actually think City will identify left-back as a position they’ll bring in the January window or someone they’ll go and try to get because Gvardiol in the World Cup was one of the best centre-backs, if not the best centre-back at the World Cup. He was sensational”, he said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily show.
“And you’re playing him in at left-back where he’s doing stuff, I know he can play there and he has played there but he has to do a role that he’s not really used to. They’ve got an unbelievable amount of centre-backs that are excellent, you look at their positioning but you just feel like he, back in the centre will make such a huge difference and I think defensively, City have been a little bit, well, they have been open and exposed.”
Enter Valentin Barco
As Stephen Kelly mentions the potential of Manchester City signing a left-back in January, it was reported last Wednesday that the club were leading the race to sign Valentin Barco for a £9 million fee.
Journalist Graeme Bailey also claimed in November that City were “confident” that they would sign the Boca Juniors defender during the winter window.
The Argentine is capable of playing in three positions, which may have always been a draw for Manchester City when they first targeted him, especially due to their relatively small squad.
The 19-year-old is a left-back by trade but is also capable of playing in midfield and on the wing.
Considering the treble-winners do not play an offensive full-back nowadays, perhaps he could be brought in to add some verve to their attack.
But with how inexperienced Valentin Barco is, whether he is viewed as a first-team arrival or a project signing will be interesting to discover, if the deal goes through.
