Manchester City, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, so let’s do some transfer talk instead. If there’s one thing that can survive a global pandemic, it’s transfer rumors. There are now multiple reports that the Premier League could return to action in June, and play matches behind closed doors.
That is of course contingent on how well England and Europe do in containment and mitigation of the coronavirus of course. Until then we only have transfer talk to do, and we’ll start with Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentine is on a lot of team’s wish lists, including City. Barca, Real Madrid and Chelsea are in the running as well.
Martinez, 22, has a £97.5 million release clause, as he’s in year three of a five-year deal that he signed when he moved over for £20m from Racing Club in 2018.
And just last month, his countryman, and former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino gave a very flattering assessment of him.
“Lautaro is certainly one of the best strikers in the world right now,” Pochettino said.
“It’s not just for what he does now, but for what his potential means going forward. If you start looking at forwards for the big clubs, clearly his name has to be in there.”
Moving on to potential central defender upgrades, as that is the number one position of need this summer transfer window for City, another target has come into the picture.
It’s Swansea City’s Joe Rodon, who is reportedly attracting the interest of United as well. The 22-year-old, who had a standout season with the Swans, will be a hot commodity this summer transfer window, and the Evening Standard has more at this link.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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