Manchester City will face stern competition from elsewhere in the Premier League for Brighton & Hove Albion star Kaoru Mitoma, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
City are understood to be in the market for a wide-winger this summer, as Pep Guardiola looks to add a different type of attacking threat to his existing options – that already boast the likes of Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, and Phil Foden.
Speaking during a recent press conference, the Manchester City manager confirmed that he and his colleagues at the Etihad Stadium would look towards profiles of players that he currently does not have at his disposal.
Guardiola stressed that signing different players would be “so important for the future,” and stated that changes in types of players are required throughout the entire Manchester City squad.
Now, in a fresh update from transfer specialist Gianluca Di Marzio – speaking to MyBettingSites – it has been stated just how difficult it will be for Manchester City to secure one of their potential wide attacking targets this summer.
That name is Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma – who has so far scored a commendable nine goals and provided a further six assists across 27 appearances under Roberto De Zerbi so far this season in all competitions.
On the subject of the ever-impressive 25 year-old Japanese international, Di Marzio explained, “(Kaoru) Mitoma is a player for Manchester City, for Tottenham, for Liverpool. But it’s tough to go to Brighton and to get them to sell.”
Manchester City will be more than familiar with the difficulties of negotiating with officials from the south coast, having been unsuccessful in a high-profile pursuit of Marc Cucurella last summer – a player that would ultimately end up at Chelsea.
It is widely understood that the Premier League champions had a total of three bids rejected by their Brighton counterparts. Those fees were fixed at: £30 million, £35 million, and a final offer of £40 million.
A report from the Athletic at the time also claimed that Brighton pointed to fees paid by City for Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo, though it was contested by Etihad chiefs that both of those players had far more Premier League and Champions League experience.
Manchester City can expect to have a similarly difficult time negotiating with Brighton, should they formalise a pursuit of Mitoma this summer, and as such may opt to look elsewhere to avoid a drawn out saga for a potential target.
