According to report emanating from @CorSport via Sport_Witness, Manchester City are said to be on the trail of Juventus winger Douglas Costa, who has been reportedly put on sale by the Italian club side.
Douglas Costa was regarded as a promising prospect in his youth.
A diminutive player, with a slender build and an eye for goal. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder in his early career, but later Costa established himself as a versatile winger, capable of playing on either flank, and of adapting himself to several different formations, due to his energy and work-rate, as well as his powerful and accurate striking ability from distance with either foot; however, Douglas usually favours the right wing, as it enables to cut into the centre onto his stronger left foot.
He is mainly known for his speed, agility, and explosive acceleration, both with and without the ball, as well as his dribbling skills, technical ability, creativity, and trickery in possession, which enable him to beat opponents in one on one situations.
He is also highly regarded for his crossing ability from either flank, which makes him an excellent assist provider.
In 2017/2018 season, which was Costa’s maiden season for Juventus, he recorded six goals in 47 appearances across all competitions, as Juventus won a domestic double; and he also led the league in dribbles (106) and recorded the second-most assists (14) in Serie A.
Despite Costa’s talent, his discipline, mentality, and inconsistency have been brought into question at times by managers and pundits; and another problem surrounding the 29-yrs-old Brazilian is the general feeling in Turin which is that, the Brazil international is injured too often and thus cannot be relied upon as a consistent performer over the course of a season.
Given his age, the Turin club are now considering to cash in on the wing wizard, with a valuation of around €40 million been placed on him.
With Manchester City supposedly on the look out for a replacement for contract rebel Sane, who has been rumoured to be on his way to German giant Bayern Munich, Douglas Costa obviously ticks all the right boxes to be replacement Pep needs.
Costa enjoyed a regular playing time under Pep Guardiola in 2016 at Bayern Munich. Now with Douglas Costa’s availability and prior experience of working under the former Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola at Allianz Arena, Costa’s signing would definitely favour both parties. As he wouldn’t find it hard to adapt in Guardiola’s tiki-taka system.
