Guardiola masterplan almost complete, with Man City ‘closely monitoring’ Frenchman also wanted by West Ham, Celtic

Manchester City are keen admirers of FC Nantes left-back Quentin Merlin, according to a French report – although up to seven other clubs are also in contention.

Left-back is possibly the last area of Man City’s star-studded squad that could benefit a new specialist option, even though it is an increasingly redundant role in Pep Guardiola’s fluid system that often sees a centre-half like Josko Gvardiol or Nathan Ake start there and then shuffle inside as the shape becomes a 3-2-4-1. Nevertheless, the treble winners are weighing up their options ahead of the 2024 transfer windows.

According to the French edition of 90min, one player they are now ‘closely monitoring’ is Merlin, who has developed in the Nantes system and now has 73 first-team appearances to his name.

Merlin has featured in all 10 Ligue 1 matches available this season, doing so as a starter on each occasion. In the process, he has caught the attention of a number of clubs.

Indeed, Man City are not his only suitors from the Premier League, since the report claims West Ham are on his trail too. At left-back, they currently have Emerson Palmieri and Aaron Cresswell, but the latter is in the final year of his contract.

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Celtic have also established themselves as an interested party for Merlin, while on the mainland continent, he is being observed by Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon.

In short, five national champions are among the contenders for Merlin’s signature – those of England, Scotland, Germany, Italy and France – as well as a couple of other well-recognised sides.

Race expanding for Merlin

The update follows information from Foot Mercato towards the end of last month that RB Leipzig have held talks with Nantes about the player, whose representatives were said to have spoken to PSG. Napoli are another suitor whose interest has already been reported.

Merlin, who is still only 21 years old, has a contract with Nantes until 2026. He participated in the Europa League with them last season, which was his first taste of continental action. (He is yet to get a chance to play in the Champions League, but many of the suitors queuing up for him are aiming to offer that opportunity).

Merlin has also earned nine caps for France’s under-21 national team, after also being capped in the U16, U17, U18 and U20 categories.

It is not yet clear what kind of asking price Nantes might set for Merlin. Reports over the summer, when Celtic were originally linked, suggested they wanted around £7m to part company with him.

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