Manchester City have been advised to consider signing Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell by former Scotland defender Alan Hutton.

The Lowdown: Man City need a left-back

Joao Cancelo departed for Bayern Munich on loan at the end of the January transfer window, with the German champions retaining the option to make that permanent for a fee of £61m, leaving City rather light at left-back.

Rico Lewis was handed a start by Pep Guardiola in the 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, but given that he is just 18, the manager will likely to bring in a player with a little more experience, and Chilwell has been identified as a possible summer target.

The Latest: Chilwell talked up

Hutton spoke to Football Insider about the possibility of the Chelsea defender moving to the Etihad Stadium, which he feels would be a worthwhile venture for the Premier League champions.

The ex-Tottenham right-back said of Chilwell's links with City: “It would be a good move. I would not have thought Chelsea would want to lose him. I think he is an integral part of their team, him and Reece James. Especially when they are both fit and playing.

“Depending on what happens with Cancelo, we will have to wait and see. But Chilwell when he is fit is a top player, one of the best in the country.

“With [Oleksandr] Zinchenko leaving to go to Arsenal, it is an area they will need to strengthen.

The Verdict: Best to avoid

The 26-year-old has not been in the best of form for Chelsea this season, ranking a lowly 18th in the squad among Sofascore's performance metrics with a 6.77 rating, while he is also showing signs of being injury-prone.

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge in 2020, the Englishman has missed 53 games through injury, and he has been absent for ten games with a hamstring problem this term.

There are some indications that Chilwell would fit a possession-based Guardiola system, as he ranks in the 88th percentile for average attempted passes per 90 in the past year (67.68) among left-backs in Europe's top five leagues.

However, his injury history and recent form would suggest that there are probably better options available to City.