Manchester City 'Growing Increasingly Confident' In Signing Benfica Star In £17 Million Deal Amid Marc Cucurella Stalemate

Manchester City are growing increasingly confident in signing Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo. 

The 26 year-old has been outlined by Manchester City as an alternative at left-back for Marc Cucurella.

The Citizens have pursued a deal for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Cucurella throughout the summer but were knocked back after they saw their bid of £30m rejected by the south coast club.

Left-back has been a problemed position for the team ever since Aleksandr Kolarov left at the start of Pep Guardiola’s reign as manager.

The Catalan’s City team sheets have seen many playing at left-back over the years, often with players playing out of position to plug the gap there.

Fabian Delph and Oleksandr Zinchenko have both done well for spells in the position but the pair have departed the club now, with the latter joining Arsenal in a £30m transfer this summer.

In light of the difficulties being encountered in the quest for Cucurella’s signature, an alternative option has been identified for the Citizens.

It had been reported by Marca and relayed by Sport Witness that Guardiola is interested in Benfica’s left-back Alex Grimaldo and that the defender has become an “option” to City.

The Spaniard has been at the Portuguese giants since 2016 and has often been linked with the Manchester club over recent years.

Marca also claimed that Benfica value Grimaldo at €20m but Guardiola will have to compete with the likes of Juventus, Barcelona and fellow English side Newcastle United to acquire the Spaniard’s signature.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Cross of the Daily Star has claimed that City are ‘growing increasingly confident’ in signing the 26 year-old for £17 million, amid the continued stalemate in their pursuit of Cucurella from the AMEX. 

The Sky Blues are reportedly ‘reluctant’ to meet the Seagulls’ valuation for the Catalan, with the Benfica full-back considered as a ‘suitable alternative’ by the Premier League Champions. 

Grimaldo has been a top performer for the Portuguese outlet over the years.

The defender is blessed with pace but also sensible defensive ability, making him a clever and affordable acquisition should City choose him over Cucurella.

The Spaniard has made 246 appearances for Benfica, scoring 19 goals and adding 50 assists.

Grimaldo’s time in Portugal this far has also been silverware laden too, with the defender winning eight trophies including three Primeira Ligas.

The player would be in good company at City amongst players to have started for Benfica, with current first-team starters Ederson, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva all turning out for the Portuguese club in the past.