Manchester City
Premier League • England
Man City to be gifted one of La Liga’s best; owners can grant Guardiola wish to devastate Arsenal
Manchester City are reportedly keen on signing Girona left-back Miguel Gutierrez, and that they are backed by the City Football Group means the move could be an easy one.
It’s not the case for a lot of players, but Gutierrez has starred since leaving Real Madrid. He made the move to Girona last summer after playing just 10 senior matches for his boyhood club.
Last season, the La Liga club were just warming up, as they finished 10th. Gutierrez, largely playing as a left-back, scored twice and assisted four times during the campaign.
This season, Girona have gone to another level, having won all but one of their games so far.
That was against Gutierrez’s former side Real, who put in a commanding performance to win 3-0.
But Girona are laughing the hardest at the moment, as they are two points clear of Real at the top of La Liga, and thumped gaints Barcelona 4-2 last time out.
Gutierrez scored his first goal of the season in that game, and as a result of his performances to this point in the campaign, it would be hard to say he’s not one of the league’s best assets, with his ever-improving quality.
Real might have known he would become a star, as they inserted a buyback clause when selling him to Girona, meaning they get first dibs on his transfer.
Man City head queue for now
However, it was recently reported they have not seen enough from him yet to decide to bring him back.
While there’s no guarantee that stance will remain, for now, it puts Manchester City in the lead.
Indeed, according to Spanish outlet Sport, cited by the Daily Mail, City boss Guardiola is looking to reinforce his side in January and is looking to Gutierrez.
His exit clause of £30million would surely be no problem for the Citizens if Real don’t snatch him, and the Spaniard could become the definitive option on City’s left side, with Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji all having played there this term.
City are certainly above Premier League rivals Arsenal in the pursuit. It’s been reported Mikel Arteta is a fan of Gutierrez, and wants to bring him in with the left-back position not nailed on at the Emirates either.
City breezing past Arsenal is a result of Girona being backed by the City Football Group.
Indeed, the owners could effectively swap Gutierrez from Girona to City if they deem he’d be a more useful asset for Guardiola than he would remaining in La Liga.
They certainly would not allow Arsenal to benefit from his services in the knowledge that the City boss wants him.
While it’s suggested plucking Gutierrez from a City ‘feeder’ club could be to the detriment of Girona, the owners are likely to lean towards City and cater to their needs, given they are the current European Champions.