Manchester City are reportedly intent on signing Leicester City full-back Ben Chilwell next summer, but face competition from Chelsea and Tottenham.
According to an exclusive report from 90min.com, Manchester City are prioritizing a summer transfer move for 23-year-old Leicester City star Ben Chilwell, who is also a subject of interest from London clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City find themselves well behind Premier League champions elect Liverpool halfway through the campaign. The reigning champions are already 14 points behind Jurgen Klopp’s merry brigade, with defensive issues being one of the primary reasons for Pep Guardiola’s side to find themselves way off pace in the title race.
Manchester City have had to make do without the services of defensive mainstay Aymeric Laporte for the entire season so far, while the likes of John Stones and Oleksandr Zinchenko have struggled with injury issues. Primary left-back option Benjamin Mendy hasn’t been consistent enough, while summer signing Angelino has flattered to deceive either.
Having seen his team fall behind Liverpool this term, Guardiola is determined to push for the title next season and wants to recruit two top-class defenders in order to fortify his side’s backline. To that end, Ben Chilwell has emerged as a prime candidate for Manchester City, along with Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly.
Chilwell has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the country. The 23-year-old has made rapid strides since bursting onto the first-team scenes at Leicester City a couple of years ago. Having established himself as the first-choice at the international level, the Englishman has grown from strength to strength in the ongoing campaign under Brendan Rodgers.
So far in the 2019-20 campaign, Chilwell has featured in 18 matches across all competitions, contributing with a solitary goal and three assists in the process. The 23-year-old has shown great growth and potential over the past few seasons and it makes sense that Manchester City would look at him to bolster their ranks.
However, they will have to face stiff competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea. The Blues have had their handful of defensive problems under new boss Frank Lampard. Left-back is one area where the former Chelsea midfielder will look to strengthen, given that both Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri haven’t been consistent enough.
Tottenham too are in the race to sign Chilwell, as they prepare for the departure of long-time servant Danny Rose. The Englishman is set to seal an exit in the near future, while Ben Davies has had injury problems this term. And with manager Jose Mourinho claiming that he sees Ryan Sessegnon as more of a winger than a left-back, Spurs’ interest in Chilwell makes complete sense.
There is no doubt that Chilwell’s fortunes are on the rise and the 23-year-old will definitely go places if he keeps performing at this level. A move to a bigger club in the summer could definitely play on his minds and it will be interesting to see if either of Manchester City, Chelsea or Tottenham are able to snap him up ahead of the next season.
