Manchester City Transfer News: Latest Faouzi Ghoulam Rumours Reveal £3M Fee

Manchester City are reportedly set to open talks with Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam ahead of a potential £3 million deal for the Algerian in January.

According to Daniel Cutts in The Sun, City manager Pep Guardiola is keen to find a replacement for the injured Benjamin Mendy in the new year and Ghoulam could be available for cheap, given his contract expires next summer.

Cutts added City will offer the 26-year-old full-back around £90,000 per week and the Sky Blues will open talks with Napoli next week when the two sides meet in the UEFA Champions League. 

Summer signing Mendy is expected to be sidelined for several months after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Crystal Palace last month, per Jamie Jackson in the Guardian.

It is a big blow given the France international was a key £52 million signing from Monaco in the summer.

However, Ghoulam would be a worthy replacement and a City source revealed Guardiola is interested in the Algeria international, per Cutts: "Ghoulam has been looked at for a while and Pep is very much interested. City play Napoli next week and are hoping to steal a march on others about a deal. He's free to speak to English clubs soon. Pep is looking for a cheap replacement for Mendy, and the scouts have reported some good things."

Ghoulam could provide many of the qualities that will be missed on the left flank in Mendy's absence.

He has been superb for Napoli over the last few seasons under Maurizio Sarri.

Most attractive to Guardiola will likely be that he is comfortable on the ball and can be dangerous in the attacking third of the pitch, per WhoScored.com:

Napoli will likely be loath to let him go for just £3 million. However, given that they risk losing him for free next summer if they don't sell in the new year, City could yet snap Ghoulam up for a reasonable price.