City decide against swoop for Leicester’s Chilwell
Manchester City have reportedly pulled the plug on making a £60m move for Leicester City and England left-back Ben Chilwell, according to senior club sources.
It’s understood bosses at the Etihad had originally lined up the fast-raiding left-back to provide increased competition for France defender Benjamin Mendy.
But the Citizens have cooled their interest and now feel Chilwell isn’t the right fit for Pep Guardiola, who this summer is planning to bring in as many as five new faces.
The City boss could have as much as £300m to spend – especially if winger Leroy Sane does join German giants Bayern Munich in a £100m-plus switch.
Chilwell had been closely monitored and, while his homegrown status was also viewed as a bonus, the Foxes man is seemingly no longer in the equation.
The 23-year-old certainly had a game to forget last month at the Etihad in a 3-1 defeat against the Premier League champions, being given a torrid time of it by his former Leicester team-mate Riyad Mahrez.
It’s not known if that display had any influence on City’s decision to now look elsewhere, but people close to the player have suggested Chilwell was ‘open’ to a move.
https://twitter.com/BenChilwell/status/1220100042972958721
Guardiola has instructed his scouts to spread their net and Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose is someone the Catalan tactician is also known to like.
It could be good news for City’s rivals Manchester United, though, who have also been taking in Chilwell’s games during the past year.
The Milton Keynes-born starlet would likely replace Luke Shaw, and Chilwell remains in contact with United’s newly-appointed skipper Harry Maguire, who transferred from the King Power for £80m last summer.
Since making the breakthrough into first-team football at the King Power Stadium, Chilwell has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.
He has played 112 times for Leicester across all competitions, scoring two goals.
However, he was recently reprimanded by Brendan Rodgers after missing a training session and was subsequently left out of their 2-1 loss at Burnley on Sunday.
