Why Unai Nunez would be a good addition to Manchester City

According to AS (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester are monitoring Athletic Bilbao defender Unai Nunez in a bid to bolster their defensive unit ahead of the next season.

Unai Nunez, 23, came through the youth ranks of Athletic Bilbao and featured in La Liga 2 regularly until he got promoted to the club’s senior team in 2017. He started regularly in his debut season with the first-team but lost his place to Inigo Martinez and Yeray Alvarez in the following campaign.

This season, he has featured in 11 league games. He has also helped his side reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with an impressive performance in the 1-0 win over Barcelona in the previous round.

The Spaniard has been at his best for the Basque club since his promotion to the senior side and his performance also earned him a call-up to the national squad. He made his debut against Faroe Island in the European Qualifiers and has a chance to make it to Spain’s team for Euro 2020.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s side have been poor in their title defence this season and the chief reason for their failure has been the lack of depth in the defensive unit.

First-choice centre-back Aymeric Laporte missed the majority of the season through a knee injury while John Stones has been frozen under Guardiola. The Englishman failed to impress whenever he got his chances and has been on the bench for a long time.

This has prompted the manager to turn towards Fernandinho, who is a defensive midfielder by trade. The Brazilian initially struggled but later when he got going in the new role, an injury hampered his progress. And Nicolas Otamendi has started regularly. Therefore, Guardiola must bring in reinforcements to the backline and Unai Nunez should be prioritized.

Despite not playing frequently, the 23-year-old has shown excellent potential in the limited opportunities he has received. He was at his best against Barcelona in the first game of the La Liga season and also blocked two potential goals against the Catalans in the Copa del Rey. He also put in a man of the match performance against Real Madrid earlier in the campaign.

As he has shown his defensive prowess against world-class teams, it would be safe to say that Nunez has the ability to develop into a good centre-back. And the Premier League platform would be the right place for him to grow.

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Verdict

City’s abysmal performance at the back was highlighted when Liverpool, Norwich City, and Manchester United beat them earlier in the season. And it is clear that they lack adequate options in their defensive unit.

Therefore, the Etihad out must plot a move for Nunez in the summer and bolster the depth in their squad.