Manchester City have been linked with both Ben White and Pau Torres in recent months, but who would be the better addition to Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium this summer?
Ben White
According to journalist Duncan Castles on the Transfer Window Podcast, City have held preliminary talks with White ahead of a potential summer move following an impressive Premier League debut season which saw him earn a call-up to Gareth Southgate's England squad for the European Championship.
The 23-year-old centre-back was already on the radar of many top clubs after he played every minute for Leeds United in their Championship title-winning 2019/20 campaign, and he was a mainstay in Graham Potter's Brighton team last season, making 36 appearances in the top flight.
His performances earned him the glowing praise of Jamie Redknapp, who said: "There’s a centre-back there who is going to go right to the top. He is so comfortable on the ball, you can see why Leeds wanted to keep him.
"He’s destined for an amazing future, that young man, I love him."
Pau Torres
According to the Daily Express, City are keeping tabs on the Villareal and Spain centre-back, who is also attracting interest from rivals Manchester United after his impressive performances in La Liga in recent seasons.
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Last season saw the 24-year-old make 33 appearances in the Spanish top flight, contributing two goals and two assists, whilst he also helped Unai Emery's side to win the Europa League.
The Spanish defender is currently valued at £45m by Transfermarkt and certainly wouldn't come cheap, especially when you consider that he would likely be behind Ruben Dias and John Stones in the pecking order at City considering their superb performances last season.
Who would be better?
Although White would also be very expensive, with Brighton having already reportedly rejected a £40m bid from Arsenal, he has a lot of advantages over Torres in that he is homegrown, younger and has plenty of experience in the Premier League.
He has learned from Marcelo Bielsa and Potter, suggesting that he could comfortably adapt to Guardiola's playing style at Manchester City, whilst he has also featured as a defensive midfielder at times for Brighton, so his versatility would surely be appreciated by the Spanish manager.
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Therefore, City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain should forget about signing Torres this summer and instead focus on bringing White to the Etihad.
In other news... Bye-bye Laporte: Txiki should swoop for £40.5m-rated beast likened to Hummels