Man City ‘offer’ star in Barcelona swap despite ‘betrayal’ as Pep plans ‘summer madness’ for England man
Man City are attempting to strike a swap deal for Frenkie de Jong by offering Bernardo Silva in exchange, according to reports.
The Citizens are once again champions of England after beating Arsenal to the Premier League title by two points on the final day of the season.
Despite losing to arch-rivals Man Utd in the FA Cup final, Man City have cemented their place as one of the best teams in Europe after winning the Treble in 2023.
Pep Guardiola has won everything as the Citizens boss and it has led to rumours that the Spaniard will leave when his contract expires at the end of next season.
That has led to speculation that some of Guardiola’s best players could take the opportunity to leave the club this summer with Silva possibly the most talked about potential departure.
And now reports in Spain claim that Man City have made an ‘offer’ for Barcelona midfielder De Jong which includes the Portugal international plus money.
Guardiola is said to be ‘very interested’ in De Jong with Man City the ‘latest’ in a long line of suitors, including Liverpool, Man Utd, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Man City boss wants a ‘luxury partner’ for Rodri with Barcelona no longer taking ‘a dim view of selling him, if it serves to bring in several reinforcements’.
Barcelona are still demanding €90m for De Jong, which is a ‘prohibitive figure’ for most clubs, and Man City are prepared to pay €30m plus Silva for the Netherlands international.
Xavi was not as keen as Hansi Flick on signing Silva as the former struggled to ‘forgive the betrayal’ of the Portugal international flirting with Real Madrid over a potential move.
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Man City will now look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements with other reports in Spain claiming that Guardiola and the Citizens are preparing a ‘summer madness’ for Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze.
The Citizens ‘would agree’ to pay the Eagles €90m for Eze after refusing to pay €70m last summer with the new England international contributing 11 goals and four assists in 27 Premier League appearances this term.
Referring to Guardiola, the potential signing of Eze is set to be ‘one of his last wishes in a transfer market’ and Man City ‘appear to be in the strongest position to secure his signature’.
The report adds: ‘His ability to handle the ball, create chances and score goals has caught the attention of several big clubs.’
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