Manchester City's Marc Cucurella Transfer Pursuit Reaches Conclusion

Manchester City's pursuit of Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella has now seemingly reached its conclusion this weekend, following a new development.

The Premier League champions have been on the hunt for a new left-sided full-back for the large majority of the summer transfer window.

Following struggles in the position last season, and over the past couple of seasons, the area of Pep Guardiola's squad had been highlighted as an area of weakness.

That need for a new player in the position quickly became a matter of urgency, as Manchester City sanctioned the sale of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for a fee in the region of £32 million.

From the perspective of Pep Guardiola and fellow Etihad officials, the ideal replacement and priority target has always been Brighton's breakthrough left-back Marc Cucurella.

While City had seen an opening bid of £30 million rejected by the south coast club, and a clear intention to increase their bid broadcasted in recent days, a new development has brought proceedings to an abrupt end.

According to new information from The Athletic's Andy Naylor, Brighton have now ended their conversations with Manchester City over the sale of Marc Cucurella.

It is further stressed that officials at the Amex Stadium will only accept an offer that meets their asking price, with Brighton seeking a fee upwards of £50million.

The report states that Brighton will not discuss any further incremental bid increases from Manchester City - which is a replica situation that Ben White found himself in, when he was subject to interest from Arsenal in a deal that ultimately came to fruition.

It is highlighted that Brighton consider Marc Cucurella to be a rarer and better talent than the aforementioned England international, as he plays in three positions on the left.

Marc Cucurella had officially handed in a formal transfer request to his club earlier this week.

The notice came less than 24 hours after Manchester City themselves threatened to move on from negotiations due to differences in valuations from both parties.

The expectation now is that the Premier League champions will move on to other options.

Known to be on their shortlist of alternatives is VfB Stuttgart's Borna Sosa, while Benfica's Alex Grimaldo is a long-term player of interest.

Both players would almost certainly command much lower transfer fees to Marc Cucurella, which is likely to interest Etihad Stadium officials.

As for existing alternatives, Pep Guardiola may opt to continue with Joao Cancelo and Josh Wilson-Esbrand as his options, while Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte also have the capability to play in the role.