Manchester City preferred a move to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri over Liverpool target Milos Kerkez this summer as they looked to boost their options at left-back.
Man City are planning to have Rayan Ait-Nouri in place for their Club World Cup squad as they look to finalise a deal by Tuesday’s deadline.
The defender has just enjoyed an excellent season at Wolverhampton Wanderers and TBR Football revealed last month that Man City were interested in Ait-Nouri.
The Algeria international emerged as City’s first choice, a player who was also on Liverpool’s radar before they opted for a move for Milos Kerkez instead.
Kerkez is close to joining Liverpool as Arne Slot continues to build for next season, but City ultimately preferred Ait-Nouri.
Man City opt to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri despite Milos Kerkez interest
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Chelsea and a host of foreign sides were also keen, including those in the Saudi Pro League.
However, it’s understood that Ait-Nouri has long seen a move to City as his preferred option.
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
Photo by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images
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And when explaining the defender’s preference, Bailey revealed that City considered Ait-Nouri to simply be a superior option to Kerkez this summer.
He explained: “Ait-Nouri did have other options, there was strong interest from elsewhere – I am told that once he knew of City’s interest towards the end of last season – he really wanted to move to the Etihad.
“This is a big deal for Hugo Viana – Pep Guardiola has decided to change their left sided options, bringing in a ‘proper’ left back – but one who offers many options, both in defence and attack.
“City also think that Ait-Nouri is the best option on the market – ahead of Milos Kerkez but also other previous targets such as Andrea Cambiaso and Theo Hernandez.”
Ait-Nouri outperformed Kerkez last season
In terms of City’s decision to prefer Ait-Nouri to Kerkez, their decision at least looks justified from an offensive point of view.
Ait-Nouri outperformed Kerkez in an attacking sense in almost every metric in the Premier League last season, suggesting that the Algerian would be the better choice for a side expecting to dominate games more often than not.
Matches Goals Assists xG xA Tackles Errors
Rayan Ait-Nouri 37 4 7 2.7 5.5 89 2
Milos Kerkez 38 2 5 0.6 3.9 52 4
Ait-Nouri and Kerkez compared in the Premier League last season (data from FB Ref)
Of course, that’s not to mean that Liverpool are getting a bad deal when signing Kerkez from Bournemouth, far from it.
Kerkez is three years younger than his City-bound counterpart, a player who was crucial to a lot of Bournemouth’s work last season.
Two excellent talents, and ones who are bound to feature prominently in next season’s title-race.