Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola is supposedly prepared to break one of his golden rules when it comes to transfer deals in order to sign Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich.
For the first time in his Bayern career, the 29-year-old was condemned to a trophyless season in the 2023-24 campaign, as the Bavarians fell short in the Bundesliga, Champions League, DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup.
The year was still a productive one on a personal level for Kimmich, who contributed two goals and 10 assists from 43 appearances under Thomas Tuchel, who reverted him to his previous right-back role in the second half of the campaign.
Kimmich has now given Bayern nine years of service since joining from Stuttgart in a £7.2m deal in 2015, but the Germany international will be able to leave on a free transfer in 2025 as things stand.
Kimmich is already believed to have rejected one offer of a new contract from the German giants, who could be pressured into selling him this summer if talks over a renewal do not lead to a positive solution.
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All of Man City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona and Liverpool have been credited with an interest in Kimmich, who insisted that he was "relaxed" over his future when questioned in March but did not commit himself to Bayern.
Seeking to take advantage of the situation, Sport Bild - via The Sun - claims that Guardiola is especially keen to win the race for Kimmich, whom he worked with for one season at Bayern in the 2015-16 campaign.
Guardiola supposedly believes that the 29-year-old remains one of the 'best players' he has managed in his career, but signing him would see him break one of his 'unwritten' personal transfer rules.
Throughout his illustrious managerial career, Guardiola has made a habit of avoiding signing players he has worked with at a previous club, only lifting his self-imposed embargo on two occasions.
The six-time Premier League winner managed Thiago Alcantara at Barcelona before signing him for Bayern in 2013, while he also brought Claudio Bravo to the Etihad three years later following their stint at Barcelona.
Man City's Kimmich chase to boost Barcelona's Joao Cancelo pursuit?
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During their first and only season together at Bayern Munich, Guardiola utilised Kimmich's versatility to the maximum, deploying him on the right and centre of defence as well as the number six role.
However, with Kimmich now returning to right-back duties for club and country in 2024, and 34-year-old Kyle Walker having two seasons left on his contract, the Bayern man would surely be signed with the intention of succeeding the Englishman.
Such a plan would also work in Barcelona's favour, as the Catalan giants are pushing to keep Joao Cancelo at the club on a permanent deal following his loan spell, and Man City signing Kimmich may make them more open to letting Cancelo leave for a lower fee.
Like his Portuguese colleague, Kimmich also excels as an inverted full-back and would be a like-for-like replacement, and Guardiola also has Rico Lewis waiting in the wings for when Walker calls time on his Citizens career.
If a deal to keep Cancelo at Camp Nou breaks down, though, City should not rule out the prospect of battling Barcelona for Kimmich, who was also a stalwart of the Bayern teams under new Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick.
Ben Knapton
