Man City can repeat genius Kyle Walker transfer - but it isn't simple

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It's worth saying amid the jubilation from Manchester City fans at signing a left-back that neither of the specialists signed in the Pep Guardiola era turned out to be any good.

Injuries sent 2017 signing Benjamin Mendy spiralling and his attitude and application never allowed him to recover, while 2019 recruit Angelino didn't speak with the manager before signing and was shipped off on loan after six months.

Rayan Ait-Nouri may well be the player City have been looking for in that position, but if he impresses he will do so on the back of makeshifts in Oleksandr Zinchenko, Joao Cancelo, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol. Left-back has regularly been a problem position at the Etihad in part because the actual left-backs signed never looked like working.

In contrast, right-back was sorted in 2017 and only recently fell apart. The football world lost their collective minds when City paid £50m for Kyle Walker for Tottenham, only for it to give Guardiola the player he needed to win six Premier Leagues in seven years as well as a Champions League as part of a Treble.

Walker's stock at the Etihad is lower than it ever has been after an extraordinary collapse over the last year and he has burned his bridges, yet it should not be forgotten that he still stands as one of the best signings the club have made. To get such quality and consistency for so long, making all of the initial critics look as foolish as they tried to paint City as while winning trophy after trophy, was exceptional.

With the Walker era at an end, right-back is seen as the one outstanding position for City to strengthen in this summer after recruitments at left-back, midfield, and attack. With Andrea Cambiaso happier at Juventus now, Tino Livramento is seen by many as the best option for a player able to slot straight into the team while still having a high ceiling to develop.

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Newcastle are not looking to sell as they plan their return to the Champions League, so it would require a hefty fee to tempt them - likely north of £70m - but comments from the player last week at the Under-21 Euros were a missed opportunity to shut the door on speculation. When it would have been easy to commit to Newcastle, Livramento didn't.

Paying that much for a young talent would likely draw the same raising of eyebrows that Walker did in 2017 when not even Maurcio Pochettino thought he would improve on his Tottenham level, and in doing so City would also move further away from Guardiola's ideal from a squad. City's manager prefers fewer players that can be used in several positions rather than specialists everywhere in order to avoid having to leave first teamers out of his matchday squads.

The question Hugo Viana has to answer is whether he is convinced enough by Livramento to go as all out on him as his predecessor Txiki Begiristain did for Walker, believing that it can overcome any issues around it to solve a position for years to come. If not, a cheaper alternative such as Flamengo's Wesley or making do with current squad options are preferable.

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