Mendy Replacement? Guardiola Has His Eyes On £90,000-A-Week Chelsea & Arsenal Target

This is a guest post from Vikki Steel.

With Benjamin Mendy out for the bulk of the season, it is apparent that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City could do with another left back and according to various reports, Guardiola has his eyes and maybe mind on signing Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam.

The Algerian was linked with moves to Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham recently but it appears Guardiola is ready to beat the rest of the chasing pack to the signature of the 26-year-old. Although Faouzi Ghoulam is primarily a left back, he can also play as a left winger and left midfield which is something most Premier League clubs will like. It is safe to use your Coral Promo Code and bet that Manchester City will be active in the January window.

Another plus is that he will become a free agent next summer and unless he signs a new contract between now and January, he will be available on the cheap in January as Napoli may be forced to sell or risk losing him on a free transfer next summer. He is said to be available for just £3m in January which means City, if they sign him, will be taking very little risk as if he flops, he can easily be sold and City’s investment recouped. City are said to be ready to pay him £90,000-a-week should he sign.

Watchers of the Italian Serie A regard Faouzi Ghoulam as one of the best defenders in the league, City will be getting a good addition to that squad who will not only competite with Mendy for the left back position when the Frenchman returns but is capable of ousting him from the first team.

Guardiola and City fans will have the opportunity of having another look at the African next week when both meet in the Champions League and maybe Guardiola will use that opportunity to hold talks with the former France U21 player.

It however remains if Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will revive their interest in the player in January. But if they do, I strongly believe City will have a better chance of landing him as all of the aforementioned clubs really do not have an immediate need for the Algeria. With Mendy out injured for maybe 9 months, Faouzi Ghoulam will know he has a chance of playing regular first team football while Mendy is away.

At Chelsea he will have in form Alonso to compete with and at Arsenal there is Kolasinac while Tottenham have Ben Davies who have been a solid player for the Lilywhites so far this season.