Man City to pose Arsenal major problem with Kieran Tierney among two Prem options touted for late raid

Man City are expected to sign a front-line left-back aside from Sergio Gomez, and Arsenal favourite Kieran Tierney is one of two Premier League stars coming into focus, per a report.

Very few areas of Pep Guardiola’s side can be termed understrength. However, despite the vast sums they’ve spent in recent years, Man City are perilously short of options at full-back.

Indeed, the sale of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal has left City with just two senior full-backs.

Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo are elite level operators, though they cannot be expected to play every match for a team that regularly go deep on four fronts.

Guardiola is aware of the issue and spoke about Nathan Ake’s ability to cover on the left. He also talked up the idea of more minutes for youngster Josh Wilson-Esbrand.

However, City are realistic and the best way to solve their problem is through the market. As such, they lodged three bids for Marc Cucurella, though were ultimately unwilling to match Brighton’s valuation.

Chelsea were and the Spaniard is now at Stamford Bridge. That prompted City to move for Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez.

One City signing coming, but there’ll be another

The Anderlecht full-back, 21, will move to the Etihad for a fee of around £12m, per Fabrizio Romano. A verbal agreement has been reached, though Gomez is viewed more as one for the future, not present.

That could manifest itself in an immediate loan exit to Girona. The Spanish side are part of the over-arching City Group.

Gomez’s arrival may therefore not remedy the depth issue. As such, the Telegraph shed light on the chances of a late raid for a higher profile target.

Firstly, it’s acknowledged Man City are looking to add a ‘senior’ left-back to their ranks before the September 1 deadline rolls around.

From the continent, options such as Borna Sosa of Stuttgart, Atletico Madrid’s Renan Lodi and Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro are listed.

Kieran Tierney among two Prem options

However, the Telegraph state that the closer City get to the deadline, the likelier they are to pursue a player with Premier League experience.

That’s where Kieran Tierney comes in with City considering a move for the Scotland international.

Zinchenko’s arrival has given Tierney more competition than he’s used to. The Ukraine international may ultimately succeed him as the No 1 left-back.

Of course, Zinchenko may slot into midfield, though Mikel Arteta always seems to find a place for Granit Xhaka in his eleven and it is Xhaka’s position in midfield which Zinchenko would take.

Aside from Tierney, Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri is also a candidate. The French full-back, 21, is taking great strides forward at Molineux and City are fully aware of his talents.