Manchester City Looking For Defenders, Need To Deal Out Angeliño First

KEY POINTS

Barcelona looking to beef up with Angeliño of Manchester City
Angeliño has a buyout clause with RB Leipzig
Manchester City may be open to selling to help raise funds as they look to improve defensively

Manchester City fullback Jose Angel Esmoris Tasende, known better as Angeliño, is being considered by two teams. One of them is the club where he is currently on loan, RB Leipzig. Though RBL does have an option to buy the 23-year-old Spaniard in 2023, FC Barcelona appears to be ready to buy him as early as now from the Sky Blues. Angeliño is valued at $35 million.

Angeliño spent the second part of last season at Red Bull Arena, playing the left-back and wide midfield. The loan included an option to buy for RB Leipzig, hinting that Pep Guardiola is slowly trying to offload some players and invest in new players that would give Benjamin Mendy some challenge, The Guardian reported.

A reason for this is Mendy has been often injured and Guardiola has been unable to turn to anyone to fill the slack. City did add Nathan Ake from Bournemouth and Ferran Torres recently to bolster the midfield.

However, it appears City is looking to add more players in the mix but they have to let go of some current ones first. One of the believed targets of Guardiola is Kalidou Koulibaly. The only obstacle seen here is that the Sky Blues have to raise roughly $104 million to take in the 29-year-old player.

Aside from beefing up its midfield needs, there is also the case of Sergio Aguero. The club's record scorer is now 32 years old and Guardiola knows that he may need to find a replacement striker moving forward. Given the limited resources and financial situation that stand in the way, there is no assurance he can find an immediate replacement this summer.

Guardiola does have Gabriel Jesus under his wing. However, the landscape could change for the 23-year-old if City opts to bring in a more seasoned striker. The Brazilian footballer has been playing behind Aguero for the last three years. If City opts to take in another striker that would play ahead of him, Jesus may just decide to try his luck elsewhere.

As for Barca, the sudden interest in Angeliño is seen as one of the moves that new coach Ronald Koeman is planning according to Goal. Koeman took over from Quique Setien.

Aware of the need to strengthen their midfield, Angeliño is one of several targets that the Spanish giants are considering. Other names mentioned include Eric Garcia.