Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has made good use of his links to Manchester City over the past year, having brought in Arijanet Muric, CJ Egan-Riley and Taylor Harwood-Bellis to help with last season's successful promotion-winning campaign.
With Harwood-Bellis returning to the Etihad Stadium, the Clarets may well opt to use their City connection to bolster another position in the back line.
Transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri claims Burnley have reached out to City regarding a loan move for Sergio Gomez, but the Spanish left-back is stalling over a decision as he wants to try to win over boss Pep Guardiola first.
It is a loan move that makes sense for all three parties, though, with the 22-year-old likely to play regular Premier League football, while Burnley get a talented defender to help boost their survival hopes.
Is Sergio Gomez a good option for Burnley?
City signed Gomez for £11m from Anderlecht, where he spent time playing under Kompany, but he was restricted to only ten starts in all competitions in 2022-23 – just two of those in the Premier League.
Gomez showed he is capable of playing in a number of positions, as most players can under Guardiola, which is something the Spain U21 international prides himself on.
"I consider myself versatile. I'm available for whatever the coach asks," he told Spanish radio station Partidazo de COPE. "At City, they ask me to play full-back and with [Spain U21 boss] Luis de la Fuente, I'd always played right wing, and he likes me to play there."
It is at left-back Gomez is most comfortable – he started six games there last season, as per WhoScored – and from his limited time on the field, there are strong comparisons to be made with one of the finest around in that position.
Indeed, FBref's comparison model lists Liverpool's Andy Robertson as the player most like Gomez in terms of their statistical profiles. For example, Gomez averaged 0.25 assists per 90 minutes last season, compared to 0.28 for Robertson, with neither player scoring themselves.
The pair attempted 81.3 and 78.9 passes per 90 minutes respectively, averaged 91.8 and 86.5 touches, while they won the same amount of aerial duels per 90 (0.77).
Gomez has a long way to go to show he can be a match for Robertson, and a move to Burnley under Kompany is his first real step towards doing that.
With a relatively low salary of £50k-a-week, according to Capology, Gomez could also prove to be an upgrade on current left-back Ian Maatsen.
But as someone described as "a full-back, playmaker, king of assists and winger" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Kompany would not just be strengthening one position, but two or three with one deal.