Manchester City are reportedly interested in a deal to bring Tottenham fullback Ben Davies over to the Etihad.
The Sun claim that Manchester City are showing interest in Tottenham fullback Ben Davies. The Welshman has been largely restricted to playing second fiddle to the first-choice wide defensive duo of Kyle Walker and Danny Rose. And he could be set to move to fellow title challengers, the blue half of Manchester.
Ben Davies arrived at White Hart Lane in a near £10 million deal before the start of the 2014-15 campaign after impressive displays for Swansea City. The 23-year-old, though, has failed to carve out a regular place for himself in the starting eleven under Mauricio Pochettino.
But the failure to land a regular spot is more down to the consistently impressive shifts put in by both Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, which has kept Davies restricted to a substitute role. The 23-year-old is also capable of being deployed centrally but the duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen seems to have struck a good partnership, which has kept the Welshman out.
Despite not being a regular starter, the player regularly features for the Spurs side and has managed 13 appearances for the club in all competitions this season, with 1 goal to his name. He was given minutes again as he came on to be a part of the back three in a blitzing victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Manchester City were linked heavily with a move for Holger Badstuber but with the Bayern Munich star choosing to stay in the Bundesliga with a loan move to Schalke, the Citizens have now started looking elsewhere for defensive reinforcements.
Pep Guardiola wants some injection of youth in the wide defensive areas with all his options in and around the 30-age mark. Manchester City have been linked with Tottenham’s main duo Kyle Walker and Danny Rose but a deal for them is unrealistic, with the players content at their current status at White Hart Lane.
Ben Davies, on the other hand, could be tempted away from Spurs with the promise of regular first-team football at a similarly ambitious Manchester City side. The Sun report that the Citizens are prepared to test Tottenham’s resolve with a £20 million bid for the 23-year-old.
Ben Davies was brilliant for Wales in the European Championships in a central role, which means Guardiola can also deploy the player centrally, if he so desires. The aforementioned bid would provide Spurs with double the amount they invested to buy Davies in the first place and given the fact that Davies’ contract expires in 2019, the fee does seem justified.
The decision is likely to be down to Tottenham. They will have to choose whether to let a player leave to a potential rival for the Premier League and it may so happen that, in doing so, they end up aiding City’s title challenge.
But if Ben Davies’ head does get turned by City’s interest and their promise of regular first-team action, Pochettino could decide to agree a sale for the 23-year-old instead of keeping an unhappy player on their roster, seeing as it’s their cohesion which is often credited to be the reason of their magnificent football.
