Manchester City ‘curious’ about 22-year-old Italian defender – Bayern Munich have made enquiries | OneFootball

Premier League champions Manchester City are reportedly ‘curious’ about the talents of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori, according to new information.

Etihad Stadium recruitment chiefs are currently in the process of strengthening Pep Guardiola’s roster of players for yet another defence of silverware across the course of next season, particular the Premier League.

The final weeks of the last campaign saw Manchester City put together a remarkable winning run to ultimately hold off the faltering challenge of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and claim a record-breaking fourth successive English top-flight title.

One crucial element behind Manchester City’s success in recent seasons has been the strength of the Etihad club’s defence, and particularly their collection of central defenders which boasts talent capable of operating across the rearguard.

But the latest report to emerge concerning the Premier League champions claims that the club are eyeing fresh talent in central defence, despite their existing strength in depth, perhaps with one view towards the future and forward planning.

According to information included in a long-read by The Athletic’s James Horncastle, Manchester City are ‘curious’ about the talents of Bologna’s Italian centre-back Riccardo Calafiori.

It is claimed that the Serie A side will unsurprisingly not want to lose the player, and certainly ‘not on the cheap’, as his former club FC Basel in Switzerland have a sell-on clause of between 40 and 50 per cent.

Alongside the Premier League champions, the report also states that newly-appointed Juventus coach and former Bologna boss Thiago Motta wants the 22-year-old to follow him to Turin, whilst the likes of Bayern Munich have made ‘inquiries’.

Manchester City’s history of players from Italy is relatively limited, with arguably their most notable name being the former striker Mario Balotelli, who joined and left the club during the tenure of Italian coach Roberto Mancini.

Rolando Bianchi and Bernardo Corradi also hail from Italy and represented Manchester City, while the Premier League club have never employed a player from the country in defensive positions.

Despite that, Italy are known around the world for having produced some of the greatest ever defensive players the game has seen, including the likes of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini – both of whom represented Juventus.