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Talk of Man City raid for Sergi Roberto rubbished by agent of Barcelona star
Pep Guardiola has been linked with a player on the books of his former club, but no official approach has been put to those at Camp Nou
Talk of Manchester City launching a raid on Barcelona for Sergi Roberto has been rubbished by the player’s agent, with no offers put on the table as yet.
It has been suggested that Pep Guardiola will look to prise a top talent away from his former employers at Camp Nou now that another window has swung open.
City have issues to address in defence, and it could be that they look to reinforce their options at right-back.
Roberto would compete with Kyle Walker for that position, with the versatile 28-year-old also capable of operating in midfield.
The La Masia academy graduate may prove to be a useful addition at the Etihad Stadium, but his representative claims there has been no approach despite the mounting speculation.
Josep Maria Orobitg said in the Manchester Evening News: “Sergi Roberto has no plans to leave Barca.
“Now there are no clubs showing interest and Barca has not submitted any proposals for the player to us.”
Amid the talk of City looking to land Roberto, Barca have been asking questions in the opposite direction of Eric Garcia.
The Catalan giants want a player who left their youth ranks in 2017 back on their books, but Guardiola is eager to tie the 19-year-old defender to fresh terms in England.
The Blues boss has also hinted that he will be looking to bring a number of fresh faces into his squad before the next deadline, with deals already in the pipeline for Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres.
Guardiola has said: “It depends on the players we’ll have next season, it depends on the quality of each one as to how we adapt the way we attack and defend.
“New players can maybe come or maybe not, it will not change the freshness of the team completely. Everyone has to be fresh - not just one or maybe none or two or three or 10 or 20 [signings] - all of us have to freshen up our minds and bodies and desires to continue to be competitive in all the competitions.
“If you bring in eight or nine players, which is impossible, you change a lot, the mentality or the freshness or the way you want to play. But I think 80 per cent or 85 per cent or 90 per cent of the team will be the same so it depends on the people who are here.”
