Manchester City are already stacked in the midfield, but they are looking to beef up the position nonetheless. This could be more out of need, not just out of luxury with a long-term replacement for the 34-year-old Fernandinho now being identified.
That target is Atletico Madrid man Saul Niguez, 24, with the Daily Mirror reporting that the Spaniard: “has a staggering £130m buy-out clause in Madrid but it is believed the two parties can strike a deal for a fee in the region of £80 million.”
City reportedly face major competition from FC Barcelona, who beat them to the punch for Frenkie de Jong, when he was still with Ajax. City recently missed out on midfielder targets Fred (who went to Manchester United instead) and Jorginho (who went to Chelsea).
Meanwhile ESPN reports that Niguez’s days at Atletico are numbered.
“He can’t stay at Atletico anymore, everything’s complicated for him there,” a source told ESPN FC. The report goes on to say that City are essentially ahead of Barcelona right now in the race to acquire Niguez, and that the Catalan club are well aware of their currently behind the eight ball on this one status.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.