Manchester City co-assistant coach Mikel Arteta and scout Txiki Begiristain were recently in France in order to watch Mouctar Diakhaby play for Lyon.
Mouctar Diakhaby currently plays for the Lyon senior team making his debut back in September of last year. The 20-year-old has gone to make 40 appearances in such a short span of time and add to the that the fact that he has also scored 6 goals in all competitions. And this 6ft 3in defender fits the brief perfectly for Guardiola and Manchester City. The France U-21 International had a pretty calm head on his shoulders and is very good with the ball at his feet – a quality that Pep Guardiola really admires.
Manchester City’s senior centre-back Vincent Kompany is now 31 years old and it looks as if age is catching up to him. The Belgium International is struggling very hard to stay fit and thus Guardiola feels that he needs to sign a long-term partner for John Stones at the heart of defence.
The Blue half of Manchester did try to sign West Brom’s Jonny Evans during the summer but that deal did not materialize and that is why the City management are on the lookout for a young and talented centre-back. As per the report, the name of Swansea youngster Joe Rodon has also come up as a replacement for Vicent Kompany but as of now, Diakhaby is clearly leading the race.
