Pep Guardiola has done an excellent job building an incredible Manchester City side for the last couple of years. And of course, the Citizens would also reap the rewards when they claimed the Premier League title two times in a row but now, once again, the Catalan coach will need to spice things up a bit.

And as ever, it's the defensive line that will need some tweaking as Guardiola is looking to add to his team's solidity. One of the names that have been continuously linked with Man City is none other than Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly. Of course, the big defender is largely regarded as one of the best in the world and as such, it will be quite difficult to get him in the first place.

But according to the Manchester Evening News, City will need a big favour from their eternal rivals, Manchester United, if they are to get this deal over the line. Actually, it won't be as much about what the Red Devils can do for them but rather about them not doing anything at all.

If we go back a couple of years, we'll remember that it were United who snatched Harry Maguire in front of City and now, they are once again linked with Koulibaly as well.

MEN state an approach from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is unlikely but as long as they are mentioned as interested or don't categorically rule it out by signing someone else, Napoli will have all the negotiating power to slam a huge asking price for their defender.

So this time, Man City need United to stay out of the race. If history has taught us anything, however, it's that the Red Devils have a knack of buying the Citizens' targets.

Verdict

Needless to say, this is an enormous favour to ask, especially considering we're talking about city rivals here. But Man City need defensive reinforcements and it will be interesting to see how they approach this situation.

Knowing how rivalries work, it wouldn't be surprising to see United do everything they can to make Pep's life that much more miserable in the transfer window.