‘Information asked’ by Manchester City about €45 million defender – competition from Bayern Munich

Manchester City would likely face competition from rivals Bayern Munich should they wish to turn interest into a concrete proposal for a breakthrough defender in Europe.

Reports of potential interest in defensive reinforcements come at a time when Pep Guardiola’s side have somewhat struggled in the defensive department, conceding 10 goals in their last five games, including four against Chelsea and three at the hands of Tottenham.

Nevertheless, supporters remain buoyed by the options in defensive positions, with John Stones’ return to full fitness a notable boost for both the centre-back pairing and the defensive midfield roles available.

Despite the varied success from the current options in the defensive ranks, Manchester City’s biggest asset in recent years is their tendency to never rest on their laurels, and consistently seek future potential reinforcements in the game.

Their latest streak of monitoring players has seemingly brought them to Italy, where one of Serie A’s stand-out performers is attracting attention from the reigning UEFA Champions League holders.

That is according to the information of Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, who claim that Manchester City are one of the interested sides, alongside the likes of Bayern Munich, in Atalanta centre-back Giorgio Scalvini.

Given the high regard in which the 20-year-old is held at the Italian club, the report admits that it would take a significant fee to prise the player away from Serie A, and Atalanta are ready to sit down to negotiate for ‘around €45 million plus bonuses’, preferring €50 million.

Following on from mentions of Manchester City and Bayern Munich, it is further detailed that ‘all the top clubs’, including the Premier League champions, have ‘asked for information’ with the belief being that he will leave Atalanta ‘next summer’.

Ruben Dias remains the most undroppable defender in Manchester City’s back-line, with the Portugal international accompanied by the aforementioned John Stones, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol, and Manuel Akanji as options in the centre of defence.

Ake and Gvardiol largely operate as Pep Guardiola’s left-back names, meaning the potential for more depth in the central defensive ranks could remain heading towards the 2024 summer transfer window.