According to a report by The Sun, Manchester City are eyeing a sensational £88m swoop for Juventus star Douglas Costa. Given the Citizens’ tendency to spend big on players, the deal does not sound all that surprising.
But when one considers the fact that Juventus paid a fee of £35m to sign him permanently from Bayern Munich just a week back, it does seem a tad bizarre. However, it goes to show Pep Guardiola’s desperation to land the winger, which again is surprising since he has a player as prolific as Leroy Sane at his disposal.
City enjoyed an excellent season last term as they won the Premier League title. But they were able to do so due to the exploits of their young players and it goes without saying that Sane played a key role for the club.
Along with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, Sane worked wonders for the Etihad Stadium outfit. In fact, it was surprising to see him miss out on a spot in the Germany squad for the upcoming World Cup. However, do City really need to spend so much for Costa?
Douglas Costa vs Leroy Sane stats
In 31 Serie A appearances for Juventus last season, Costa chipped in with 4 goals and 12 assists. He averaged 1.2 shots per game and had a pass success rate of 84%. The player made 1.9 key passes per game, in addition to averaging 3.4 dribbles.
Also, it must be noted that Costa is immensely versatile. Over the course of the last season, he played across a variety of positions in the attacking line as well as in the midfield area.
On the flipside, Sane appeared 47 times for City last season. He scored 14 goals and provided 17 assists for the Sky Blues while averaging 1.8 shots per game. In addition to that, his pass success rate stood at 84.5%, while he made 1.7 key passes and 2.8 dribbles per game.
Quite like Costa, Sane is also extremely versatile. Although he prefers a role on the wings, the 22-year-old is comfortable playing across a variety of attacking positions.
Verdict
As evident from their stats, Sane and Costa are immensely similar in their style of play as well as contributions. When Guardiola already has Sane, it does not make sense for him to splash out £88m to sign someone like Costa, who will essentially do the same thing. City should stay away from the Brazillian and invest their money elsewhere.