View Image

Hugo Viana was explaining the technical and tactical skills that resulted in Manchester City landing on Rayan Ait-Nouri as their preferred left-back target, detailing that the Algerian could play outside and inside when playing in that role.

City's director of football also stressed Ait-Nouri's "really, really good" technical skills and his youth. But reading it now, it's a description that could just as easily fit the player he replaced, who now finds himself back in competition with, in Nico O'Reilly.

The only part of Viana's assessment for Ait-Nouri that didn't fit for O'Reilly was that he had a "lot of Premier League experience", but that gap might well be closing.

City's new £31million left-back has had a stop-start beginning to his Etihad career. He was impressive

See Full Page