Stefan Borson blown away by ‘exceptional’ Man City star as transfer verdict shared
Pep Guardiola has continued to rotate his Manchester City squad in recent weeks as he looks to compete for trophies again.
Man City failed to win a trophy last season after finishing third in the Premier League table and losing to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.
Guardiola’s side were in a strong run of form heading into their clash against Aston Villa on Sunday (26 October).
However, Villa claimed a 1-0 victory over Man City, who have slipped to fifth in the table as a result.
Stefan Borson drops verdict on Alejandro Balde joining Man City
Spanish news outlet E-Noticies reported on 19 October Man City are interested in signing Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde after Rayan Ait-Nouri has been sidelined through injury for the past two months.
However, former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Guardiola’s side are unlikely to be looking to strengthen at left-back.
Nico O’Reilly and Josko Gvardiol have been rotating on the left-hand side of the defence in recent weeks at the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about whether Man City could be interested in Balde, Borson said: “I doubt it, to be honest. I doubt that’s a priority.
“I know the left-back challenges have obviously been well documented over the years. It finally looks like City have got a bit of traffic at left-back now because they have Gvardiol that can play there.
“They have Ait-Nouri that they’ve bought in, but obviously he’s had limited game time given the injury against Spurs.”
Ait-Nouri joined Man City from Wolves for an initial £31million in the summer transfer window.
Nico O’Reilly prediction emerges at Man City
In terms of the other left-back options, Borson has been impressed by O’Reilly and has backed the versatile 20-year-old for an extended run of games at the Etihad.
“Of course, Nico O’Reilly is emerging as an exceptional player, who you would think will play a lot of games this season,” said Borson.
“So, I think it’s unlikely that City would be in the market for a left-back. Although, of course, you would imagine that there’s some possibility that O’Reilly would move position into midfield perhaps or elsewhere.
“But I just don’t see really any possibility that left-back is going to be a priority position for them going forward.”
Man City’s next fixture sees them take on Swansea City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (29 October).
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