Man City expect to complete move for Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri BEFORE the Club World Cup as Pep Guardiola looks to bolster his defence

By JACK GAUGHAN

Manchester City expect to complete the signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri to bolster Pep Guardiola’s back line.

Ait-Nouri, the Wolves left back, has been admired by scouts at City for over 12 months as they looked for reinforcements in that area of the pitch.

The 23-year-old is now deemed to have enough Premier League experience under his belt to make the move following an impressive campaign at Molineux.

Known for his buccaneering style, Ait-Nouri scored five goals in 41 appearances last season and registered another seven assists.

The Algeria international has a year left on his Wolves contract – the club also possessing an option to extend that.

But City, who fly out to the United States for the Club World Cup on June 12, are hoping to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

Manchester City expect to complete the signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves

Ait-Nouri (right) has been admired by scouts at Manchester City for over 12 months

Pep Guardiola’s defence is set to be bolstered ahead of the Club World Cup later this month

The decision to prioritise Ait-Nouri indicates that Josko Gvardiol will now move permanently into the centre of defence.

Gvardiol has spent much of his first 18 months at the Etihad Stadium on the left-hand side before striking up a formidable partnership with Ruben Dias in the middle.

Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly shone in that position despite coming through as a midfielder, with City mindful they needed long-term solutions at full back this summer.

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Man City expect to complete move for Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri BEFORE the Club World Cup as Pep Guardiola looks to bolster his defence

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