Why Manchester City have cooled down their interest in Andrea Cambiaso | OneFootball

Manchester City are no longer eager to lure Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso in January, as they have decided to tend to some of their other needs.

The Premier League champions have parted ways with their stalwart Kyle Walker who asked to leave the club in January and was granted his wish. The Englishman joined Milan last week, thus prompting the Cityzens to pursue Cambiaso as a replacement.

The 24-year-old is a left-back by trade, but is often fielded at right-back as well as other positions, including the wings and the middle of the park. Therefore, his versatility renders him a good fit for Pep Guardiola’s plans.

In recent days, Man City have been enquiring about the Italian’s availability, but Juventus have set their price high, with some reports suggesting the initial request was 80 million euros.

But while some sources are still expecting a late January onslaught, Il Corriere dello Sport (via JuventusNews24) claims otherwise.

The Roman newspaper believes the English giants have decided to abandon their Cambiaso pursuit as they need to focus on bolstering some other playing positions. As the source explains, Guardiola has identified the signing of a new central midfielder as a more urgent request.

The Sky Blues have been dearly missing the services of Rodri who suffered an ACL injury during a Premier League contest against Arsenal in late September.

The Ballon d’Or winner has been the club’s most influential midfielder over the years, and his absence prompted a catastrophic skid. This was by far the team’s worst run since Guardiola’s arrival in 2016. The Cityzens even had to labour their way into the Champions League play-off round.

Therefore, it’s easy to understand why the former Barcelona manager is so desperate to replace his injured compatriot, that he’s willing to give up on signing Cambiaso, or at least delay the chase until June.