Manchester City’s long search for a natural left-back appears to be nearing its end. According to BBC Sport, Pep Guardiola is close to securing the signature of Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri in a £31m deal, including £5m in potential add-ons. The 24-year-old is expected to undergo a medical this weekend, with the deal likely to be completed before 10 June – a deadline that would allow the Algerian to feature in the Club World Cup group stage.

City’s reliance on makeshift options at left-back has persisted since Benjamin Mendy’s final appearance in 2021. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Joao Cancelo, Josko Gvardiol, and more recently, academy talent Nico O’Reilly, have all filled the void with varying levels of success. Yet none have offered the specialist balance that Guardiola demands.

Ait-Nouri, however, does. He is not just an energetic full-back – he is an architect in transition and a disciplined presence in recovery.

Across the 2023–24 season, Ait-Nouri posted 11 goal involvements – more than any other Premier League defender. That attacking edge, combined with 63 completed dribbles (second only to Aaron Wan-Bissaka), placed him among the elite in his position. He also ranked fourth in chances created by defenders, behind only Leif Davis, Pedro Porro and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The numbers do not just reflect offensive flair. Ait-Nouri was unmatched in regaining possession in the final third among all Premier League defenders. His anticipation and aggression in key zones mirror the kind of tactical control Guardiola has often built his sides upon.

“He’s been on City’s radar for a while,” a source told BBC Sport, “and they’ve been tracking his progress over multiple seasons.”

Ait-Nouri is set to become City’s latest addition after their £46.3m agreement for Tijjani Reijnders. With over £200m already spent in the January window, there is no hesitation from the club when it comes to investing in squad evolution.

But this signing is not just another show of financial muscle – it’s about function. Ait-Nouri brings something specific that City have lacked for seasons: a dynamic, left-sided defender who can play the Guardiola way.

For Wolves, the departure follows another significant outgoing in Matheus Cunha’s move to Manchester United. Ait-Nouri’s 41 appearances last season were pivotal to their survival, and his five goals and seven assists helped stabilise a team in transition.

Wolves’ fans will know what they’re losing – but for City, this is an opportunity to solve a long-standing tactical headache with a player ready to operate at the very top.

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From a Manchester City perspective, this transfer feels both overdue and entirely necessary. Watching City operate without a true left-back over the past few seasons has often made one wince. Gvardiol did well enough in patches, but he’s a centre-back first. The constant rotating and repositioning of players – Cancelo here, Ake there, even O’Reilly – was resourceful but never fully convincing.

Ait-Nouri feels like a Guardiola player through and through. His technical ability, his comfort driving forward and his knack for intercepting play in high zones are all traits that should fit into City’s positional play. What’s especially exciting is how this could unlock more from the right-hand side too, as it could free up rotations between the full-backs and midfielders, much like when Cancelo would invert or Zinchenko shifted into midfield.

Some may worry about his adaptation to the higher expectations at City, but he has faced relentless pressure at Wolves and still delivered numbers that top defenders at bigger clubs couldn’t match. If he stays injury-free and adapts to Guardiola’s positional demands, City may finally have the answer at left-back for the long-term.

And for £31m, in this market? That might prove to be a steal.