Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola may spend lavishly in the summer and will look to Real Madrid with eyes on rebuilding his squad.
Manchester City have been far from their usual selves this season, especially in the Premier League. Last two seasons’ champions find themselves lagging heavily behind leaders Liverpool and are the subject of a difficult tie against Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, but do have one foot in the Carabao Cup’s final.
Pep Guardiola has identified the weak positions in his squad and will go for a central defender as well as a midfielder during the summer. In order to strengthen the two positions of his choice, the former Barcelona manager is going to turn to the Catalans’ arch rivals Real Madrid by attempting to sign Eder Militao and Isco, Diario GOL reports.
Going into the current season, the Citizens made a big mistake by not signing a centre back and that’s proving to be catastrophic for them right now. Vincent Kompany has left the club as it is, while Nicolas Otamendi is now in his thirties. Aymeric Laporte has suffered an injury, leaving Pep with only John Stones as a natural central defender in his roster.
Eder Militao was not wanted at Real Madrid by Zinedine Zidane and was a signing made by Santiago Solari. Zidane is thought to have preferred Matthijs de Ligt and having handed just nine starts in 26 matches this season to the Brazil international Eder, the Frenchman is thought to be comfortable with the idea of letting him go this summer.
On the other hand, Manchester City are also going to lose David Silva this season. The Spaniard has arguably been the best midfielder in the Premier League since his arrival and an imperative part of the squad of every manager to have occupied the hot seat at the Etihad Stadium. Hence, it is necessary for Pep to replace him with an equally good player.
Francisco Alarcon Isco of Real Madrid is thought to be the ideal option by the Man City boss and hence, he will be telling his seniors to talk to Real Madrid over a potential move for the ex-Malaga man. Zidane considers Isco a crucial part of his plans and may not lose him easily, but for a player who is thought to be fading, money might do the trick.
Real Madrid will ask for at least 50 million euros for Eder Militao’s services, while Manchester City seem to be prepared to offer just 30 million. On the other hand, the idea in Spain’s capital is that Isco will easily bring 50 million euros, but a rich club like the Citizens will be asked to pay a bit more should interest be shown in the playmaker.
Do you think Real Madrid would be willing to offload the two players to Man City?