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Manchester City are close to signing RSC Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez this summer for a fee in the region of €15 million, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Cityzens lost out to Chelsea in the race to sign Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion. The Spaniard joined the Blues earlier this month with Marcos Alonso's future at Stamford Bridge hanging by a thread amidst links with Barcelona.
It seems City have turned their attention to former Borussia Dortmund left-back Gomez, who joined the Belgian side last summer. The 21-year-old was impressive last season, scoring five times and assisting 15 goals in 49 games across all competitions.
Manager Pep Guardiola is devoid of options down the left-hand side of his defense. The current Premier League champions saw Oleksandr Zinchenko join Arsenal earlier this summer on a permanent basis.
The Ukrainian's exit comes after City sold Angelino to RB Leipzig last summer. They have not signed a left-back since then, but could now finally address that issue by signing Gomez.
Guardiola is said to be seriously considering keeping Gomez with the senior side once a move is completed. The club will have internal talks in the coming days to decide on their left-back options.
The versatile Joao Cancelo could be a strong contender to play in that position. The Portugal international can also play at right-back, but the Premier League outfit also have Kyle Walker in that position.
However, Cancelo and Walker are the only experienced full-backs on City's books. Benjamin Mendy's indefinite suspension adds further weight to City's pursuit of Gomez.
What full-back options do Manchester City currently have?
Manchester City won their opening Premier League game of the season on Sunday, August 7, by a 2-0 scoreline against West Ham United. Guardiola started Walker at right-back and Cancelo at left-back.
The two of them, however, are not immune to fatigue and injuries. City had 19-year-old Josh Wilson-Esbrand and 17-year-old Rico Lewis on the bench, but the two Englishmen were unused substitutes during the game.
The former plays as a left-back and has made just a single senior appearance for the Cityzens, while the latter, a right-back, has made none. In such a situation, it is very likely that Gomez will join the senior squad if he ends up signing for Manchester City this summer.
It remains to be seen when the deal will be completed. The aforementioned price tag could turn out to be a bargain if Gomez keeps progressing at the same rate as he has during his time in Belgium.
