The last time Manchester City signed a left-back ready to go straight into the first team, Rayan Ait Nouri had just turned 16 and was trying to make the grade at Ligue 1 strugglers Angers.
While City had splashed out £52million on Benjamin Mendy, a year earlier, Ait-Nouri had swapped Paris FC for Angers in a deal worth €5,000, which is what the Parisian club had spent on his tuition fees.
It proved to be money well spent, and although Ait-Nouri's trajectory hasn't been as smooth as it looked when he broke into the Angers team as an 18-year-old, he is now on the brink of that move to an elite club that had long been expected.
When he arrives at the Etihad, Ait-Nouri will arrive not just with the expectation of replicating his Wolves performances in a City shirt, but in finally filling a position that hasn't always been the simplest to solve for Pep Guardiola.
Mendy's last City appearance came in August 2021, and Guardiola has tried plenty of alternatives, with varying degrees of success. Josko Gvardiol has filled the role for a couple of years and done so impressively, although his long-term home was always likely to be in the centre of defence.
Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko have also had long stints at left-back, while cut-price deals for potential long-term successors in Angelino and Sergio Gomez didn't work out, with those deals worth around £16million failing to find a first-team starter.
Perhaps the closest City came to signing a left-back was in the summer of 2022, when they pursued Marc Cucurella from Brighton but decided against matching Chelsea's astronomical £62million bid. They also considered Ait-Nouri that summer.
Now the Algerian international is set to arrive at the Etihad, with the £33.7million fee looking like a bargain. The 24-year-old has been a very attacking full-back at Molineux, playing wing-back this season under Vitor Pereira.
His statistics are similar to Gvardiol, but he could add creativity to the City man's goal threat. The Croatian netted five Premier League goals in 37 appearances last term, with Ait-Nouri scoring four times but providing an impressive seven assists. He will offer natural width and a real attacking threat down the left.
Just as importantly, he will allow Gvardiol to continue in the centre of defence. He ended the season in his favoured position, having made it clear he wanted to play there, and his partnership with Ruben Dias could blossom in 2025/26.
The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world's best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.
Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.
£0
DAZNThey could have the chance to continue that relationship during the Club World Cup in America, and it looks good. Dias brings aggression, reading of the game, and excellent one-on-one defending, while Gvardiol's ability to carry the ball and play forward passes is excellent.
On paper, that could be the best defensive partnership in the Premier League. With Ait-Nouri raiding down the left, it's a defensive set-up that looks promising heading into next season. It's taken a while, but City's eight-year wait to finally sign a left-back is nearly over, and the bargain deal for Ait-Nouri could be worth that wait.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
