Manchester City appear to be putting all of their eggs in one basket when it comes to signing a new right back.
[ MORE: Ozil urges Sanchez to stay ]
Kyle Walker, 27, is City’s main target after Pep Guardiola lost out on signing Dani Alves to Paris Saint-Germain.
A report from the Daily Mirror states a $57 million offer should arrive from City imminently as Tottenham Hotspur play hardball over the Premier League’s PFA Team of the Season right back for 2016-17. They want $65 million for Walker, per the report.
The England international was left out of Spurs’ starting lineup on numerous occasions at the end of last season as reports stated that he fell out with manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Walker’s power and pace down the right make him perfect for Guardiola’s attacking philosophy but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is a notoriously hard man to do business with.
As City prepare to fly to the U.S. for their preseason tour, Guardiola has so far made just two signings with goalkeeper Ederson arriving and attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva coming in. City badly need defensive reinforcements but everybody knows it, hence the high prices and wage demands.
Another right back is in demand and it is believed Chelsea are closing in on signing Brazilian defender Danilo from Real Madrid for $36 million.
Spanish outlet AS claims that the deal for Danilo, 25, is at an advanced stage with the clubs discussing a fee for the former Porto man.
A versatile defender, Danilo has often found himself behind Dani Carvajal in the pecking order for the right back position at Real over the past two seasons.
Chelsea have Victor Moses in a right wing-back position but Danilo would perhaps be better suited defensively for that role and Moses would then be allowed to create further forward and give Antonio Conte another attacking option.
It would be harsh for Moses, who reinvented himself in the role in Chelsea’s 2016-17 title-winning season, to be ousted from the starting lineup, but Danilo’s arrival would perhaps simply give Conte two established players in that role and then he would not have to switch Cesar Azpilicueta out from center back to right wing-back if anything happened to Moses.
Danilo would be linking up with plenty of Brazilian teammates at Chelsea if the move did go through as David Luiz, Willian, Kenedy, Wallace and Lucas Pizaon are all around, plus Chelsea’s rich heritage of getting the best out of talented Brazilians such as Oscar and Ramires could persuade the talented defender to switch Madrid for London.
Back-up goalkeeper Willy Caballero and German defender Antonio Rudiger are Chelsea’s only signings of the summer so far, as Conte has missed out on Romelu Lukaku and a move for Monaco’s holding midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko still isn’t finalized.