Manchester City Transfer Rumors: Pep Guardiola Wants to Sign Dani Alves
Looks like one of Pep Guardiola's most trusted lieutenants during his time in Barcelona may join him soon in Manchester.
According to ESPN FC, Manchester City are interested in signing right-back Dani Alves and he may be available for as low as five million pounds since he only has a year remaining on his current contract with Juventus.
Marca claims that Alves has already reached an agreement in principle to join City, and The Guardian has reported that the Brazilian footballer has informed Juventus of his intention to leave.
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"Alves's agent had a meeting with Juventus on Monday and made the club aware of his client's desire to move on. He is awaiting the go-ahead from the Italian champions to begin talks with City. Discussions are also planned with Chelsea but Alves's preference is to move to the Etihad Stadium," Fabrizio Romano and Sachin Nakrani wrote in their report for The Guardian.
Alves established himself as one of the top wing-backs in the world while he was playing for Guardiola at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012. They won three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues titles together during their four seasons together at Camp Nou.
This signing should give City's offense and defense a much-needed boost. The club just didn't have the personnel to play Guardiola's system properly last season, that's why he had to play Jesús Navas as a wing-back. Guardiola wants his full-backs to supplement attacks as well as defend. Pablo Zabaleta, Aleksandar Kolarov, Bacary Sagna, and Gaël Clichy just can't keep up with that style of play, but Alves is one of the best at making offensive-defensive transitions.
Meanwhile, Tottenham's Kyle Walker has been linked with a move to City in the past few months, and according to ESPN FC, the club will still pursue the England right-back even if they sign Alves.
