Manchester City re-consider move for €50 million Atalanta defender despite Josko Gvardiol capture

Etihad Stadium transfer bosses have reportedly re-identified a star name from Serie A as a possible transfer target following an earlier level of interest this year.

The latest developments come despite defensive recruitment having already taken place at Manchester City during the most recent summer transfer window, and despite now glaring faults in Pep Guardiola’s defensive line.

However, Manchester City’s monitoring and interest in players irrespective of their necessity in the existing first-team squad plays a large part in their consistent success, and as such transfer bosses retain long shortlists of players in case they are required.

The latest information concerns central defence, where Pep Guardiola already boasts a long list of top-level options including Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake, while Josko Gvardiol arrived in recent months.

Now, according to the information of Calciomercato and translated by Sport Witness, Manchester City are in the race to sign Atalanta centre-back Giorgio Scalvini, while Juventus are also keen on the 19-year-old alongside Bayern Munich.

Fellow Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb go on to detail that last season’s treble winners had evaluated Scalvini as an alternative to Josko Gvardiol – whom Manchester City recruited from RB Leipzig early on in the window.

Despite the signing of the Croatia international, it is reported that Scalvini continues to be a target for Pep Guardiola’s side and has ‘been in contact’ with both them and Bayern Munich. In terms of asking prices, the player is unlikely to come cheap.

It is claimed that Atalanta had requested €50 million for Giorgio Scalvini when Paris Saint-Germain made an approach in the recent summer transfer window, and the player’s asking price now could be around €45 million to €50 million.

Despite being just 19, Scalvini is a regular fixture in the Atalanta starting line-up across competitions this season, registering a total of 11 appearances in Serie A with a further three in the UEFA Europa League.

The Atalanta youth product is often likened to Inter Milan’s star central defender Alessandro Bastoni, whom Manchester City have monitored in the past, as the Italian game continues their trend of producing excellence in defensive roles.