Man City on verge of completing deal for Ait-Nouri

Manchester City are connected nan verge of completing a £31m move to motion left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves.

The 24-year-old is owed to person a aesculapian astatine nan nine this play arsenic nan last stages of nan deal, which includes £5m successful add-ons, is concluded.

City would request to complete nan transportation earlier 10 June successful bid for Ait-Nouri to beryllium disposable for nan group shape of nan Club World Cup.

Algeria world Ait-Nouri was astatine nan apical of City head Pep Guardiola's database to lick his side's problematic left-back spot.

City person been operating without a master left-back since Benjamin Mendy departed. He made his past quality for nan nine successful August 2021.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, Joao Cancelo and Josko Gvardiol are among nan players who person had extended stints successful nan position.

Youngster Nico O'Reilly past filled nan domiciled towards nan extremity of past season, including the FA Cup last conclusion by Crystal Palace.

Ait-Nouri joined Wolves successful a £14.9m woody from Angers successful 2021, having spent nan erstwhile play connected loan, and made 41 appearances successful each competitions past word arsenic nan nine avoided relegation, scoring 5 goals and adding 7 assists.

He will go Wolves' 2nd high-profile departure of nan summer, pinch Matheus Cunha group to subordinate Manchester United.

City person already agreed a £46.3m deal to motion AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, adding to nan £200m spent successful nan January transportation window.

Ait-Nouri delivered much extremity involvements (11) than immoderate different Premier League defender past word to underline his proficiency erstwhile joining attacks.

In addition, only Leif Davis (61), Pedro Porro (57) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (53) created much chances for team-mates to people than nan erstwhile Angers man (46).

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was nan only top-flight defender to complete much dribbles (64) than Ait-Nouri (63) past term.

And his tight shot power and gait going guardant compares pinch players Guardiola has antecedently favoured successful that role.

He will besides beryllium alert that Ait-Nouri has displayed nan expertise to snuff retired threat quickly and astatine source.

When nan 2024-25 run concluded, Ait-Nouri had won possession backmost much than immoderate different Premier League defender successful nan last third, pinch Crystal Palace's Daniel Munoz a adjacent second.

Former Wolves coach Edu Rubio, who worked pinch Ait-Nouri during nan 2022-23 season

His method competency, his expertise and accomplishment successful tight areas - keeping nan shot adjacent to his feet - springiness him nan opportunity to fresh perfectly into Pep Guardiola's possession-based play.

He tin besides dribble pinch speed, to get nan squad up nan transportation driving pinch nan ball, which is astir apt what Manchester City request correct now - players who tin break lines.

Defensively he has improved his crippled since his presence to nan Premier League and his one-v-one defending is of a very bully standard. He tin header physically and is simply a very versatile subordinate who tin run successful immoderate position down nan flank, aliases by playing arsenic an inverted full-back.

He needs to amended his decision-making connected nan shot - he tin return 1 touch excessively galore astatine times and slow down nan shot velocity down successful a possession crippled that Pep loves. He besides needs to activity connected his extremity merchandise successful attack.

At a nine for illustration City he will request to get his assistance ratio higher, but it is thing he tin decidedly do.