Manchester United have long been chasing AS Monaco’s Benoît Badiashile in 2017.
Reports coming out of France from June suggested there’s ‘strong interest’ from the Red Devils in the defender, but Manchester City have become the latest club to join the race for the 19-year-old, according to AS.
Pep Guardiola has seen his side suffer nine league defeats this season, something he has never experienced in his managerial career.
The situation could be fixed by strengthening the Cityzens’ defence, and the Spanish newspaper states the former Barcelona manager has already started work to bolster it.
It’s claimed the Premier League manager is ‘insistently’ looking to bring in at least one central defender for the next season.
Badiashile is one of the players already probed by the Etihad club, as he made 20 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 side in the 2019/20 season.
AS say Guardiola asked about the teenager’s situation at Monaco as the France U19 international is on his transfer agenda. His contract with Roberto Moreno’s side is until 2024 and will cost around €40m in the transfer market.
It remains to be seen whether City are willing to meet Badiashile’s asking price or if they’ll look at other targets to bolster their back four.
