Three summer transfer targets have seemingly emerged for Manchester City

There appear to be two major areas left to fill in the Manchester City squad rebuild. Signing another midfielder and a right-back appear to be the final two items on Hugo Viana’s to-do list. If City can sign the right player for both positions, it would almost certainly complete the rebuild of Pep Guardiola’s squad, aside from any signings that need to be made if and when players depart the club who play in specific roles. On this front, a new report has emerged that has named three players that Manchester City have their eyes on potentially signing this summer. It seems that Hugo Viana is quickly getting his ducks in a row ahead of this summer’s transfer window.

A new report names three players that Manchester City have an eye on to sign next summer.

Mark Douglas and Pete Hall have reported for iNews (subscription required) that Manchester City have three players in mind to sign next summer. Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is City’s preferred target to slot into Pep Guardiola’s midfield. Furthermore, the iNews report indicates that City are confident in trumping rivals Manchester United in the race to sign the England international. At right-back, Brentford’s athletic right-back Michael Kayode and Feyenoord’s young and talented right-back Givairo Read are players that City are currently investigating as potential summer targets and signings.

Hugo Viana clearly has a type of player in mind to fill the final two holes in  Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Ever since Hugo Viana took over as the Director of Football at Manchester City, it has become apparent that Viana likes to sign players who can contribute now for City but also have their best football ahead of them. This modus operandi follows on from how Txiki Begiristain operated. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Manchester City’s signings of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Antoine Semenyo, and Marc Guehi are examples of this. All three were ready-made players to fill important roles in Pep Guardiola’s squad. But the majority of Viana’s signings are younger players with the talent and potential to become top players.

Givairo Read, Michael Kayode, and Elliot Anderson fit this bill. In the case of Read and Kayode, they are both young, proven players with the room to develop into elite right-backs. If City could sign either player, it would be a boost to the right-back position in Pep Guardiola’s squad. However, in the case of Givairo Read, the Feyenoord right-back is in high demand. Christian Falk has reported for CF Bayern Insider that Bayerm Munich believe they are leading the race to sign the talented young right-back. However, City may prefer to sign a Premier League-proven right-back, which Michael Kayode is. In the case of Elliot Anderson, he looks like the ideal replacement for either or both Mateo Kovacic or Bernardo Silva if they leave Manchester City in the summer.

It seems that Manchester City and Hugo Viana have their ducks in a row ahead of next summer’s transfer window. Elliot Anderson, Michael Kayode, or Givairo Read would be great signings for City. If they could sign Anderson and one of Kayode or Read, City’s rebuild would almost appear to be complete.