Manchester City pushing for Denzel Dumfries as January transfer deadline approaches | OneFootball

Manchester City have continued their push to sign Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries despite him not featuring since November, as per a new report. 

City director of football Hugo Viana has led the charge to widen Pep Guardiola’s options in defence amid injuries to Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones that have thrown the Premier League side’s title hopes in question. 

Dias, who went off injured in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4, has missed over three weeks action with a hamstring injury, while Gvardiol’s fractured leg will take months to heal. 

Stones’ Manchester City future remains in doubt after suffering six separate problems since the start of last season that have sidelined him for 49 games and counting throughout that period, effectively forcing Viana to bring in emergency reinforcements this month.

City’s second January signing Marc Guehi was signed from Crystal Palace for £20 million, with the England international starring on his full debut in a 2-0 win over Wolves last weekend and after missing Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League win over Galatasaray, the 25-year-old is expected to start against Tottenham in north London on Sunday.

Manchester City have been credited with an interest in Inter and Netherlands wing-back Denzel Dumfries in the months leading to January and with a return to Inter looming for Croatia international Ivan Perisic, the possibility of an exit for Dumfries is increasing.

The 29-year-old is still seen as an important player for the Serie A outfit but it hasn’t stoped City from monitoring the defender closely, as reported by Sportmediaset and relayed by Sport Witness.

Barcelona also see the full-back as a target despite the arrival of Joao Cancelo, who has made 44 appearances for the Spanish giants and spent the 2023-24 season on loan at the Spotify Nou Camp on loan from Manchester City.

Further reporting from L’Interista claims that Inter boss Cristian Chivu and club officials are anxious over rumours circulating as a result of Dumfries recently changing his agent – which is perceived internally as a move to engineer a departure from Milan.

City have been handed a lifeline in their interest in the Dutchman, who can leave Inter in the summer and limitations are in place to avoid the situation getting conflicted.

Dumfries’ ability to push forward in the final third and perceived incompetence while defending makes it easy to question whether he would really be a good fit for the Premier League side, given Matheus Nunes – City’s first-choice albeit makeshift right-back – possesses strengths in defence and attack.

Being linked with a move to the Premier League has become an annual tradition for Dumfries in recent years and it is yet to be seen whether the defender will finally make his move, though first and foremost, he will need to fix the ankle injury burdening his season.