DORTMUND, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 29: Dan-Axel Zagadou of Dortmund runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Sport-Club Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park on February 29, 2020 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
According to The Telegraph, Manchester City are interested in signing Borussia Dortmund youngster Dan-Axel Zagadou in the summer.
Zagadou, 21, started out with the academy of US Creteil and moved to Paris Saint-Germain’s youth setup. Having come through the ranks at PSG, he couldn’t make it to the French outfit’s senior team. He was then picked up by Dortmund in the summer of 2017 and has gone on to make 60 appearances for the German side.
The youngster has shown immense potential but has been used as an understudy to Mats Hummels throughout the campaign under Lucien Favre. He has been fairly solid whenever he was asked to carry out the defensive duties. Thus, Manchester City should take advantage of his situation and lure him to England in the summer.
City, meanwhile, haven’t been at their dominant best this season as they were in the previous title-winning campaigns. They have failed to defend their title as Liverpool beat them to the Premier League.
With the season coming to its end and City being able to participate in the next edition of the Champions League after their ban was uplifted, the manager needs to bring in reinforcements to the squad. They need to improve their squad depth if they want to go further in various competitions and continue with their dominance in further campaigns.
While City’s attacking unit has been at its best, the defence has let them down. They have already conceded 35 goals so far which is poor. They had let in just 23 goals in 38 games in the whole of the last league campaign.
After failing to bring in a replacement for Vincent Kompany, Frenchman Aymeric Laporte also became unavailable for the majority of the campaign due to a major injury. Fernandinho was asked to fill the gap but that wasn’t good enough.
John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi have also failed to hit top form and that led to their downfall. Thus, signing a central defender in the summer would be a wise move by the club.
In that regard, signing Zagadou would help them secure their defence for the future. The Frenchman is just 21 and can be a crucial player for City once he develops himself under the guidance of Guardiola. He already has some experience at a higher level. And with regular game time, he can strike a partnership with Laporte and Eric Garcia at the heart of City’s defence.
With a lack of quality at the back, it is clear that City are in need of defensive reinforcements. And Zagadou can be a useful addition to the squad this summer. He has shown his potentials and can also represent them in the future if he is able to replicate the good form. Thus, signing the French U21 international would be a wise decision by the club.
