Man City transfer news: Denzel Dumfries, Tino Livramento “better deal” verdict delivered as key “issue” is difficult to ignore

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries can be considered a “realistic” transfer target, but signing Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento would represent a “better deal” for Pep Guardiola’s side.

After spending in excess of £100m on four new players this summer, the Citizens are now believed to be scouring the market for a new right-back ahead of the new season.

Kyle Walker has joined Burnley on a permanent deal, leaving Guardiola with Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes as his two main right-back options, while Manuel Akanji and Abdukodir Khusanov could be viewed as alternatives.

Livramento is thought to be Man City’s leading right-back target, but his £80m asking price is considered a major stumbling block at present, while Newcastle are reluctant to sell the highly-rated 22-year-old.

Reports have recently emerged claiming that Man City are in pole position to sign Netherlands international Dumfries after initiating talks with Inter, with the Citizens tempted to activate the player’s €25m (£21.6m) release clause that expires on July 15.

Separate conflicting report have suggested that City are yet to hold talks over a move for Dumfries, but McInerney feels that if they do decide to make a move for the 29-year-old, then it would “contradict the approach” of new director of football Hugo Viana who has been targeting youngster players since his arrival.

Dumfries to Man City would “contradict” Viana’s transfer approach

McInerney would approve the signing of Dumfries at Man City, comparing the Dutchman to the “opportunistic purchase” of Akanji in 2022, but he has reiterated the club’s need to address the homegrown “issue” within Guardiola’s first-team squad.

Under Premier League rules, eight players within a 25-man squad must be considered homegrown - players that have been at an English club for at least three years before turning 21. The rules are the same for the Champions League, but four of those eight players must have been at Man City for at least three years before turning 21.

Man City currently have 11 homegrown players in their squad, but some of those, including Jack Grealish, James McAtee, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Josh Wilson-Esbrand, have been linked with an exit this summer.

Sharing his thoughts on a potential move for Dumfries, McInerney told Sports Mole: “A lot of it comes down to the homegrown issue, because City still need to sign homegrown players or let some foreign players go.

“Away from that, the quality of [Dumfries], he's just turned 29 in April so he's not the youngest and it does contradict the approach that Hugo Viana has had as City's new director of football alongside Txiki Begiristain, since he's come in where City have signed younger talent.

“You go back to that first (January) window, Vito Reis, Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and [Omar] Marmoush - the latter two are in their early to mid-20s as opposed to 19, 20 - but even (the signings made) this summer, [Rayan] Cherki is 21, [Rayan] Ait-Nouri is 24, [Tijjani] Reijnders is 26, so they're all younger players.

“[Signing] Dumfries would be a change of tack there. I think having a hard and set rule always with anything, with players, I don't think it's smart. You can't just sign young players because if a great player becomes available at a good price, sometimes you have to sort of plug the gap in your squad and Dumfries is a high-quality full-back.

Man City “could park the right-back issue” with Dumfries signing

“I would guess the logic could be if City are going for Dumfries [it is because] the right-back market isn't that strong, I would argue. A lot of the very best players just aren't attainable and there's not a lot of players that play regularly at the top that you could get.

“With Dumfries for €25m at 29 years old, you’d get three or four years out of him there at a very good level, almost guaranteed.

“When we signed Akanji, for example, he was an opportunistic purchase for about £17m to bolster the defence, a similar price (to Dumfries), and he ended up being a regular player as City went on to win the treble.

“His form has dipped a bit recently, but you would never regret that signing. He was an absolute bargain for the price we paid for him and Dumfries could be very similar. Akanji wasn't the youngest either when we got him, 27 years old, so slight age difference there.

“But if you get a few years out of Dumfries at 29, it could allow the market to sort of evolve a little bit and some players to emerge as potential targets where City could park the right-back issue for a year or two, as other players develop or as the market unfolds a bit more and Livramento might become more available, his price might change by then, who knows?”

McInerney added: “When you look at Dumfries as a player, he's smart, very good at those early balls in behind defences when you're transitioning. He's got a very good cross of the ball, he can float it to the back post, he can cut it back and is very good aerially, he's a strong player.

Should Man City sign Dumfries or Livramento?

“He doesn't really tend to make too many rash challenges and all that kind of stuff. He's just a really good full-back in general, but I don't know if [he will join Man City] because I do think we can't ignore the fact that this is another foreign player and City do have an issue there.

“I would take him if the squad was balanced and we couldn't get Livramento in, because he's a good player whose played at a high level, played in Champions League and so on, but there is an issue there potentially.”

Discussing whether signing an experienced player like Dumfries for a cut-price fee would represent a better deal for Man City than spending in the region of £80m on Livramento, McInerney said: “I think Livramento is a lot more money, but arguably a better deal because of his age profile, the fact that he's homegrown, an English player.

“You're paying a lot for that and you're paying for a player who could be at the club for 10 years. City have had a lot of players that have pushed a decade because that's what City do, they provide such a stable foundation for players to come and grow their careers and grow as footballers.

“Dumfries is an incredibly cheap option and a good option. He might even be just as effective in the short term as Livramento, but I understand the appeal (to sign Livramento). It's an awful lot more money, it might be the best part of £50m to £60m more.

Dumfries deal “realistic” as Livramento move “is an incredibly hard ask”

“But when you're Man City and you can sort of afford that, and you're planning for the long term, and you've saved a lot of money on your number 10 (Cherki) who cost around £30m, and your left-back (Ait-Nouri) was £35m, and your new number eight midfielder (Reijnders) was £45m. They could easily justify the splash of £70m to £80m on Livramento.

“I understand why they might not want to pay that money because it's an awful lot of money for a guy who's also had a decent injury record.

“I am relaxed with whatever City choose right now, because I understand the market is difficult. I think (signing) Livramento feels hard. Livramento is going to have to force [an exit] aggressively from his side for it to go through, or maybe some PSR stuff will come out with Newcastle that we don't know about.

“For me, I don't think it's a better deal as such (to sign Dumfries). I think it's just maybe a more realistic deal. I think Livramento is an incredibly hard ask for Manchester City, unless you want to break the transfer record for a full-back in this country.

“Newcastle might even just put the foot down and go: ‘No, give us north of £80m’, and in that instance, there's not much that you can do, because they're not going to pay it.”

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Written by
Oliver Thomas