If Manchester City doesn’t sign Marc Cucurella from Brighton, Pep Guardiola names three potential replacements.

Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn on whether Brighton star Marc Cucurella is likely to join Manchester City but was hopeful the club could sign a new left-back.

Albion rejected a £30million bid from the Cityzens earlier this month but according to The Athletic, the 24-year-old handed in a transfer request today (Friday, July 29) in an effort to seal a move to the defending Premier League champions. However, the Seagulls will demand at least £50million for the Spaniard which may be an amount Pep Guardiola’s men will balk at.

The former Getafe defender, who joined the Sussex side for £15m last summer, still has four years left on his current contract and it is unlikely Tony Bloom will waver from his transfer stance. But, Guardiola has hinted he would like to strengthen in that area of the park, especially after Oleksandr Zinchenko, who played many times for the club as a left-back, to Arsenal for £32m earlier this month.

This afternoon, Guardiola was rather coy on his side’s interest in Cucurella. At his press conference ahead of the Community Shield, the former Barcelona manager said: “He’s a Brighton player, I cannot say anything else.”

In regards to the full-backs City have signed under Guardiola, they spent £60m on Joao Cancelo, £50m on Kyle Walker, £49.2m on Benjamin Mendy, and £26.9m on Danilo. The first two of those transfers worked out but the other two did not. He did, however, say they have strength in depth in this area.

“If it’s possible [to strengthen we will] but if not, we stay with the players we have. Joao [Cancelo] can play there, Josh [Wilson-Esbrand] can play there, Nathan [Ake] can play there. I never complain about the squad I have since the first season. It is always for the benefit of the club, not for me, and I support the club.”