Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Manchester City remain active in the transfer market and they intend to recruit a new left-back this summer.
Earlier this month, the Citizens allowed versatile Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko to reunite with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal in a deal worth around £32m.
Guardiola has since identified Brighton & Hove Albion's Marc Cucurella as his top target for the remainder of the summer window, although the 24-year-old may come at a hefty price.
City are understood to have seen a £30m bid for Cucurella rejected by Brighton, who value the Spaniard closer to £50m.
Negotiations between the two clubs remain ongoing, although there is still believed to be some distance between both parties regarding the player's valuation.
Cucurella is thought to be disappointed with the asking price placed on his head by Brighton, and a recent report claims that the defender has now handed in a transfer request to try to force through a move from the Seagulls to the Etihad Stadium.
While Guardiola has stated that he is happy with his current crop of players, the Spaniard has revealed that the club will pursue a deal to sign a left-back this summer if it is "possible" to do so.
When questioned about Cucurella by reporters at a press conference on Friday ahead of Man City's Community Shield clash with Liverpool, Guardiola said: "He's a Brighton player, I cannot say anything else.
"If it's possible (to sign a left-back), yes, if it's not we stay. Joao [Cancelo] can play there, Josh [Wilson-Esbrand], Nathan [Ake]. I never complain about the squad I have since the first season. What the club can do is the benefit for the club not me. I support the club."
After joining Brighton from Getafe for £15.4m last summer, Cucurella excelled in his first season on the South coast and was named the club's Player of the Year.
Brighton are under no pressure to sell Cucurella, who still has four years remaining on his contract at the Amex Stadium, although the club's chairman Tony Bloom revealed earlier this month that they will not stand in the player's way if they receive a suitable offer this summer.
Speaking to reporters, via The Athletic, Bloom said: "We've got to be realistic if a certain bid comes in and the player wants to move, the player will move, but we are not anticipating, we're not looking for our best players to move on.
"If it happens and we get a bid then we have to consider it, but until that point, we carry on."
Meanwhile, Guardiola has confirmed that centre-back Aymeric Laporte is set to be ruled out until at least September after undergoing knee surgery.
The 28-year-old, who missed the club's pre-season tour of the USA due to a knee injury, will miss Saturday's Community Shield encounter with Liverpool as well as their opening five Premier League fixtures in August against West Ham United, Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
"Laporte is injured. He had surgery after the last few games (of last season), he made an incredible effort," Guardiola told reporters at a press conference on Friday.
"He had surgery, he's doing incredibly well, you have to do careful. It's his knee, he might be out until September."
John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Luke Mbete are four centre-back options available for Guardiola this weekend, although it remains to be seen whether the former will be thrown straight into the first XI after training away from the first-team squad this summer.
Stones was one of three City players, along with Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan, who missed the club's pre-season tour of the USA after failing to meet the country's entry requirements, and the trio instead joined up with the Under-23s squad in Croatia. body check tags ::
