Manchester City are plotting big changes to their back line this summer, with interest in Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Rayan Ait-Nouri.
It was an extremely disappointing season for City last time round as they finished third in the Premier League table and without any silverware.
After four league titles on the spin it was always going to be tough to keep that run of success going, but the drop off was remarkable and defeat in the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace a negative end to a forgettable season.
Investment in the squad is planned over the summer, with full-back identified as a position in need of strengthening.
Despite the vast riches spent on Pep Guardiola’s squad, Manchester City have been left incredibly short at full-back in recent times.
Against the Eagles at Wembley Manuel Akanji and Nico O’Reilly started on the right and left of defence respectively.
On the final day of the Premier League season Matheus Nunes was at right-back and Josko Gvardiol at left-back.
City want another option on both flanks, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reporting that Ait-Nouri and Livramento have been identified as their main targets.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reports that a deal to take 23-year-old Ait-Nouri to the Etihad is yet to be done but all parties expect it to be achieved.
The Algeria international initially joined Wolves on loan from Angers in 2020 and made the move permanent in 2021.
The left-back has racked up plenty of experience, making 157 appearances for Wolves, with 41 of those coming last season when he scored five goals and provided seven assists.
Livramento will be a much more difficult deal to do as Newcastle secured Champions League football for next season and do not want to sell the England international.
The 22-year-old made 37 Premier League appearances last season and 45 in total as the Magpies finished fifth and won the Carabao Cup.
The former Southampton defender is under contract until 2028 so it would take a huge offer from City for Newcastle to consider letting Livramento go.
Magpies boss Eddie Howe spoke last month about the positive position the club is in now compared to last year when they had to sell players, which is no longer the case.
Howe told The Shields Gazette as cited by Sports Central: ‘The difference in mentality, really, for where we were, knowing that we, this time last year, we were in a selling position, we needed to raise revenue. ‘And that’s a totally different mindset to being in the one that we are now, with a different mindset and different possibilities. It is a big summer for us because every transfer window is big. ‘You want to go, preferably, into the new season with a stronger squad than the one that you entered with. And that’s always the challenge.’
