Manchester United and Manchester City to battle for Serie A starlet
Manchester United will tangle with their neighbours
Many pundits believe this year’s Premier League title race will come down to Manchester United and Manchester City. So too, might the transfer race for Roma starlet Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Reports from England claim that both Premier League clubs have dispatched scouts to watch the 21-year-old midfielder in recent weeks. Pellegrini recently received the honour of being named to Italy’s senior squad, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. His absence from international competition doesn’t figure to dampen the transfer interest in him this summer.
Roma would surely love to hold on to their young star. After all, Pellegrini came up through their youth system. Unfortunately, the Serie A club have made a serious error with their young ace’s contract. It’s believed that Pellegrini has a release clause of just £22 million.
At that price, neither Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola will hesitate to lodge a bid. The question may become which club Pellegrini would prefer to play for. Given his penchant for attacking from midfield areas, it might seem that City’s style of football would suit him better.
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Of course, the other variable in this sort of transfer race is what sort of wage packet each club might be willing to hand the player. Neither Manchester club is shy about handing out big money contracts. Again, City might have the slight edge here, but a few words from Mourinho to his board could certainly turn that around.
The more interesting question is whether or not an additional European powers will insert themselves into this transfer race. Given Pellegrini’s stellar early season play that wouldn’t be at all surprising. A Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.13 in Serie A player at his age will certainly garner lots of attention. His modest release clause will only encourage a number of big clubs to investigate making Pellegrini one of their key signings.
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No matter what, expect Manchester United and City to be in the mix until the very end. Both clubs have the financial power and reputation to turn the young Italian’s head. Look for yet another transfer battle to emerge between these two fierce Premier League rivals.