Manchester City’s stance revealed on potential right-back signing amid Tino Livramento talk | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City view their summer business in terms of arrivals into Pep Guardiola’s squad as complete, despite the absence of a new natural right-back.

City’s recruitment strategy in the 2025 summer window has largely prioritised depth and value across several departments, but a specialist right-back – long seen as a potential target – has not arrived in time for the start of the club’s pre-season training schedule.

Instead, manager Pep Guardiola looks set to continue his reliance on inverted profiles and tactical flexibility to cover the position, including the use of Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis, and Manuel Akanji among others.

City’s tactical evolution and the emergence of multifunctional players have allowed the club to operate without a traditional left-sided full-back for several seasons, and that may now switch over to the other flank with Rayan Ait-Nouri coming into the aforementioned role.

There had been growing speculation linking the Premier League giants with a move for Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento, with the 22-year-old admired across the English top-flight for his combination of recovery pace and technical comfort – aligning well with City’s preferred player profiles.

However, according to MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, City are now suggesting incomings this summer are ‘done’ following the arrival of James Trafford from Burnley, and there are no plans to bid for Livramento plus no ongoing talks around a right-back.

However, Gaughan’s report does indicate the possibility of a late twist in the tale, pointing towards examples of a change in stance in multiple cases already this summer.

“It should be noted there have been changes of heart with transfer business over recent months. For instance, the noise initially was City would prioritise a right back over left back, but then pivoted to [Rayan] Ait-Nouri,” noted Gaughan.

He continued, “[Rayan] Cherki overtook Morgan Gibbs-White in the pecking order when the expectation from various sources was that City were to do a deal with Nottingham Forest. Cherki became available at an enticing price and you imagine that were a club or representative offer up a right back at similar value then City would look at it.”

As things stand, it seems any change in approach would require the emergence of an unexpected market opportunity – the kind of situation Manchester City pounced on with their recent signing of Rayan Cherki from Lyon.

Should a right-back of the desired calibre and cost profile become available in the final month of the ongoing window, especially one with UEFA Champions League experience or high resale potential, the club could reassess.

Looking ahead, internal players such as Rico Lewis could be entrusted with a more prominent role at right-back in 2025/26, in light of Kyle Walker’s anticipated exit this summer as the veteran finalised a permanent move to Burnley.