Pep Guardiola to rival Mikel Arteta as Man City and Arsenal eye £26m January transfer - 7M sport

Pep Guardiola to rival Mikel Arteta as Man City and Arsenal eye £26m January transfer

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is set to rival former colleague Mikel Arteta in the January transfer window, as Arsenal and the Premier League champions eye a move for Athletic Bilbao defender Unai Nunez.


Posted Wednesday, December 25, 2019 by Express.co.uk

Manchester City are keen on signing Athletic Bilbao centre-back Unai Nunez in the January transfer window, according to Football Insider. But, Pep Guardiola will have to rival Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for the 22-year-old's signature, with a host of other clubs also tracking the Spanish starlet.

City are in the hunt for a new central defender, after they were caught short earlier this season.

Aymeric Laporte suffered a long-term injury in August, and still isn't expected back until February.

The club also decided not to replace Vincent Kompany last summer, after he left City to pursue a player-manager role at Anderlecht.

The gap in central defence meant that veteran Fernandinho has been forced to fill in for the majority of the season, so far.

Pep Guardiola to rival Mikel Arteta as Man City and Arsenal eye £26m January transfer
Man City transfer news: Pep Guardiola to rival Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for Unai Nunez (Image: GETTY Images)

Nunez would bolster City's defence, at a reasonably cheap price.

It's believed that Nunez has a £26million release clause in his current deal at the La Liga side.

The Spaniard has struggled for minutes in the league this season, and has only made six appearances.

Manager Gaizka Garitano has preferred to start Inigo Martinez and Yeray Alvarez ahead of the promising centre-back.

The youngster was a crucial part of the Spanish Under-21 side that won the European Championships this summer.

He's a highly-rated centre-back, and has already been handed his first cap for the Spain national team.

He was used extensively during the 2017-2018 campaign, making 33 league appearances for the club.

Nunez came through the Athletic Bilbao youth system, and was officially promoted to the first-team squad in 2016, when he was 19 years old.

Pep Guardiola to rival Mikel Arteta as Man City and Arsenal eye £26m January transfer
Man City transfer news: Unai Nunez made his Spain debut earlier this season (Image: GETTY Images)

He was called up to the Spain national team for the first time in September this year.

Nunez was part of the team that won 4-0 at home to the Faroe Islands.

He replaced captain Sergio Ramos in the 86th minute to officially record his first cap.

Nunez is currently contracted to Athletic Bilbao until June 2023.

Meanwhile, City are also reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake.

Guardiola is set to battle with Chelsea for the 24-year-old, but the west London side have the advantage in any potential deal.

Chelsea included a buy-back clause in Ake's contract when they sold him to Bournemouth in 2017.

If City fail in their bid to sign Ake, they could turn their attention to Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu.



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