Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed that Man City did make an approach for Jules Kounde during the summer transfer window.

The Frenchman, who has been capped 44 times by his country, signed a new five-year contract with Barca in August, but Deco has said an enquiry was received from the Cityzens:

“No, there was no offer. It’s true that City were looking for a full-back and they asked us if Kounde was on the market, but there was no offer or any negotiation. Before, there was Txiki, and now with Hugo Viana, who is a good friend, the relationship is direct.”

Kounde was clearly under consideration as a potential replacement for Kyle Walker, who was sold to Burnley back in July.

Man City have looked at several right-backs

Kounde was certainly not the only option explored by Director of Football Hugo Viana. Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, Juventus’s Andrea Cambiaso and Flamengo’s Wesley have all been mentioned as potential targets over the past 9 months.

A bid for Livramento was not lodged as it quickly became clear that Newcastle were not interested in selling the England international for any price.

Cambiaso’s agent has recently confirmed that the Manchester club withdrew from talks to sign the Italian in January after deciding to pursue alternatives instead. Wesley, meanwhile, ended up joining Roma.

Guardiola is still hoping to replace Walker

Despite actively seeking a new right-back, City ultimately ended up with no new additions for that position, and manager Pep Guardiola has had to make do with Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis.

It’s far from an ideal situation, and you would expect that Viana is still keeping his eye on potential reinforcements in that area of the pitch. It will be interesting to see whether there is any movement on that front in January.

Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here