Man City ponder sensational swoop for Liverpool target as Guardiola looks to replace key player

Manchester City have joined the race to sign Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella and could rival Liverpool for his signature this summer.

Newcastle held talks with Barella earlier in the window but opted for a move for his Italian teammate Sandro Tonali instead.

Having recently made the Champions League final with Inter, Barella is one of Europe’s top midfielders and is attracting plenty of interest right now.

As Liverpool continue to search for more midfield reinforcements, Barella has also popped up on their radar as a player of interest.

However, Man City are about to join the party and they could blow the rest of the competition out of the water with their financial power.

According to a report in Italy, Man City are prepared to go all in for Barella if Bernardo Silva decides to leave the club this summer.

The Portuguese playmaker is being heavily linked with a move to PSG and reports have suggested that a £70m offer could see him sold this summer.

As Man City have already lost Ilkay Gundogan this year, Pep Guardiola will be reluctant to lose a player like Silva in the same window.

While Barella is a different type of player to Silva, he is someone who Guardiola likes the look of. Although the report does suggest that City might need to pay somewhere in the region of €120m to sign the Italian international.

The 26-year-old is contracted with the Italian club until 2026 and so they are in a strong position to dictate his market value.

Inter shouldn’t be short of cash right now after they recently received £43.8m from Manchester United for Andre Onana.

Given the new system that Guardiola has adopted recently, Barella could be a perfect fit alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri.

In Serie A last season, the 26-year-old scored six goals and provided six assists. He also offers a great work rate off the ball, winning an average of 1.4 tackles per game.

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