Barcelona and RB Leipzig keen to sign Angeliño from Manchester City

Barcelona are interested in buying Angeliño from Manchester City, the 23-year-old who is valued at €30m (£27m), with RB Leipzig also interested in permanently signing a player whose contract expires in summer 2023.

The Spaniard can operate at left-back and in wide midfield, and spent the second part of last season at Leipzig. When he moved to the German club on loan at the end of January, a clause was included in the contract that allowed Leipzig to buy Angeliño for a fee in the region of City’s €30m valuation.

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Their willingness to sell suggests City want to reinvest the money raised in a player more equipped to challenge Benjamin Mendy for the first-choice left-back position, which has become problematic for Pep Guardiola. This is because Mendy’s injury record means the manager has been unable to consistently rely on a player bought from Monaco in the summer of 2017 for £52m.

Guardiola’s move to bolster this area of his team would come after Nathan Aké was added at centre-back, bought from Bournemouth for £41m, and Ferran Torres, a wide forward, was acquired from Valencia for £24.5m. Guardiola would also like to sign another centre-back, with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly his favoured target. The 29-year-old may cost up to £80m.

As Sergio Agüero – the club’s record scorer – is now 32, Guardiola is also conscious of the need to replace the striker. Whether the Catalan will be able to do so in the current transfer window with a player of requisite ability is unclear. But if he does sign another striker it may cause Gabriel Jesus to consider his future. After three years at the club, the Brazilian remains Agüero’s understudy and is keen for his status to be elevated by Guardiola.