Manchester City have spoken to Anderlecht about the possibility of signing left-back Sergio Gomez this summer.

The 21-year old is viewed as an alternative to Brighton & Hove Albion's Marc Cucurella, who is now closer to joining Premier League rivals Chelsea.

Pep Guardiola's side had been in pole position to sign the Spanish full-back, but after failing to meet the £50million valuation, the Blues have seemingly hijacked a move for the 24-year-old.

Manchester City are in talks to sign Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez (pictured) this summer

City could head into their season opener away to West Ham United on Sunday with just two full-backs after letting Oleksandr Zinchenko leave for Arsenal earlier this summer.

Although talks are underway to sign Gomez, who is represented by Pere Guardiola agency, to bolster their options at full-backs with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo the only options at present.

Gomez is a product of Barcelona's academy, who moved to Borussia Dortmund, before heading to Belgium where he worked with former City captain and now Burnley manager Vincent Kompany.

The 21-year-old, who is known for his energy and assist record, made 49 appearances last season, scoring seven goals and assisting on 15 occasions, as he helped Anderlecht finish third in the league.

Leeds United and Arsenal have also watched the Spain under-21 international closely in recent months.

The youngster could be a decent option after it looks as though they failed in their attempt to sign main full-back target Cucurella.

MailOnline revealed on Monday morning that Chelsea were attempting to steal in for Cucurella after City refused to offer more than £40m for the Spaniard.

Talks have accelerated over the past 24 hours with Chelsea also proposing young centre-back Levi Colwill as part of the deal and it is now expected that Cucurella will complete a switch to Stamford Bridge, where Thomas Tuchel could use him as a left wing-back or on the left of a back three.

The 24-year-old handed in a transfer request last week in a bid to force through a move to City and there was a feeling the Barcelona academy graduate had his heart set on working with Pep Guardiola.

However, Chelsea were given encouragement that Cucurella was interested in their club over the weekend and it is thought personal terms will not be an issue. 

His anticipated arrival will likely see Marcos Alonso get his wish of a move to Barcelona. Colwill has long been fancied by Brighton who monitored the 19-year-old closely during his loan at Huddersfield last season.

Cucurella only joined Brighton from Getafe for £15m last summer but impressed during his debut season, prompting the interest from City. 

Sportsmail understands though that there was growing annoyance on Brighton's part at the nature of City's approach. 

They had refused to negotiate further, regarding increments being offered above £35m, unless their £50m plus asking price was met while City had threatened to walk away. Talks with Chelsea have since progressed far more smoothly.