5 Things To Know About Nicolas Tagliafico: The Fullback Targeted By Both City And Chelsea

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4 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News, Transfer News

Tags: Ajax, Chelsea, Manchester City, Nicolas Tagliafico

Manchester City have joined Chelsea in the battle to sign Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico, according to reports in the Argentinian media.

The 27-year-old is said to be on a list of targets that manager Pep Guardiola is looking at as he looks to reinforce the left-hand side of defence.

Tagliafico has been at Ajax for over two years since arriving from Independiente in the January 2018 transfer window. He has won the Eredivisie title as well as reaching the Champions League semi-finals since moving to the Netherlands.

So what else do we know about about the fullback? Press the “next page” as we look at five facts about the Argentine.

1) He was a late bloomer

Tagliafico spent five years at his first club Banfield and even had a loan spell in the Spanish second division with Real Murcia in 2012. It was only when he moved to Independiente in 2015 that he began to develop a reputation.

The defender won the Copa Sudamericana (South America’s equivalent of the Europa League) in 2017 and won his first senior cap for Argentina the same year. His success led to his move to Ajax not long afterwards.

2) He Hit the ground running in Holland

Tagliafico became Ajax’s first-choice left-back immediately after signing for the Dutch club, and he has since made 99 appearances over the past two and a half seasons.

He has been a crucial member of Erik ten Hag’s side that has won the league title, the Dutch Cup and the Dutch Super Cup while also making big strides in European competitions.

3) Tagliafico has an excellent delivery

City boss Pep Guardiola loves his fullbacks to overlap and provide a threat in the final third of the pitch, and the Ajax star does have superb crossing stats.

So far this campaign, Tagliafico has made 109 crosses, with 42% of them finding a teammate, which is very accurate.

4) He can play at centre-back

Although Tagliafico has played exclusively as a left-back for Ajax over the past two seasons, he has been employed in the middle of defence on occasions in the past.

Guardiola is a big fan of players who are versatile and this will surely play in his favour if City were to sign him this summer.

5) Tagliafico does have a poor disciplinary record

Although the fullback has only picked up one red card during his time with Ajax, he has been handed 27 bookings over the past two and a half years.

It does suggest that defensively he isn’t always the most disciplined and it may be something that could go against him when City consider a bid for the player.