Manchester City have signed a significant number of players from some of Europe’s biggest clubs over the past few years.
One player, in particular, that the club made a big investment in that has gone on to become a pivotal player for Pep Guardiola is Joao Cancelo.
City signed the full-back from Juventus in the 2019 summer transfer window in a deal worth £60m that saw Danilo leave the Etihad Stadium for a move to the Serie A club.
Since then, the Portuguese international has gone on to make 150 appearances for the Manchester club prior to Thursday’s league match against Chelsea, scoring nine goals and delivering 22 assists along the way.
With the club managing to tie Cancelo down to a new two-year deal back in February to keep him at the Etihad until 2027, the Citizens have recently been linked with a player who could be Guardiola’s next version of the former Juventus star.
Towards the end of last month, it was reported that City could look to secure a transfer deal for Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy.
Having scored five goals and delivered 10 assists in 123 appearances for the La Liga club, this highlights his attacking prowess and ability in front of goal, as Cancelo has also shown to have during his time at City.
In terms of their defensive similarities, the two players have shown how important they are for their respective teams as Cancelo has the highest average of interceptions per game (1.3) at City for the current league campaign as well as the second-highest average of tackles per game (1.9).
Would Ferland Mendy be a good signing for City?
Yes
No
Then with Mendy, he has the third-highest average of interceptions per game (0.9) at the Spanish club for their current La Liga campaign as well as the joint-fifth highest average of tackles per game (1.3).
Praised in the past for his “stunning” development by Didier Deschamps, the £175k-per-week full-back has got his hands on numerous trophies during his time with Real, including the Champions League.
As another attack-minded full-back playing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, a move for Mendy would certainly mirror their 2019 swoop for Cancelo.