Manchester City reportedly join Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign highly-rated centre-back Illya Zabarnyi from Bournemouth.
Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth centre-back Illya Zabarnyi amid competition from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is said to be a ‘huge fan’ of Zabarnyi, with the Blues keeping tabs on his progress along with their London rivals Tottenham.
Zabarnyi has gained attention with his impressive performances for Bournemouth since he made the switch to the Premier League from Dynamo Kyiv in 2023.
The defender has featured in 58 competitive matches for the Cherries, including 11 appearances during the current season.
In fact, Zabarnyi has played every minute of Bournemouth’s Premier League campaign, helping the club collect 15 points from 11 matches to leave them in 12th spot and just four points adrift of the top four.
Man City to rival Chelsea, Spurs for Zabarnyi
While Chelsea and Spurs are keeping tabs on Zabarnyi, they could face competition from another big Premier League club.
According to TEAMtalk, Man City are among the clubs that are weighing up whether to make a move for the Ukraine international.
However, there is a belief that it will be difficult to prise Zabarnyi away from the South Coast in the January transfer window.
Bournemouth are keen to retain their top stars until at least the end of the season, suggesting that it would take a significant offer to persuade the Cherries to sanction Zabarnyi’s departure in January.
The Cherries are in a strong position when it comes to negotiating a fee, with Zabarnyi under contract until the summer of 2029 after signing a new deal in July.
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Why are Man City considering Zabarnyi move?
When everyone is fit, Man City boss Pep Guardiola has a number of top-quality centre-backs to call upon, including Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
However, Man City’s backline has been affected by the club’s injury crisis this season, exposing a lack of depth in the centre of their defence.
Guardiola is seemingly keen to strengthen his defensive options, having reportedly asked the club to recruit two new defenders in 2025.
The Man City boss will be aware of Zabarnyi’s capabilities after seeing the Ukrainian in action in Man City’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth earlier this month.
