The plans for the rebuild at Man City are well underway, and talks have now begun to bring a new star to the Etihad Stadium.
The 2024/25 campaign was a tough one for the Manchester club as they went trophyless, while needing to secure Champions League football on the final day of the season, an experience Pep Guardiola will not want to go through again.
Man City are keen to add four or five new faces to their squad this summer, with their midfield being their main focus.
The next few days could see the Premier League club sign AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders, and City have now begun talks to hopefully bring in another midfielder alongside the Dutch talent.
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Man City begin talks to sign Lyon’s Rayan Cherki
With Kevin De Bruyne leaving Man City this summer, the Manchester club needed to replace their captain, and Guardiola was very keen to bring Florian Wirtz to the Etihad Stadium, however, that move never worked out.
Following that disappointment, Man City have now turned their attention to Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, and according to Fabrizio Romano, the Manchester club have made contact to start talks in order to get the transfer done.
The transfer journalist says that Cherki is top of City’s list for the number 10 role in Guardiola’s team, alongside Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, with the Premier League club keen on bringing both to Manchester this summer.
Man City fans are very excited about the possibility of Cherki joining their club, who is expected to cost interested parties between £20m-£25m, a fraction of what it would have cost to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
However, just like the German, Cherki’s preference this summer would be to join the Merseyside club, as many players in world football seem to admire what is happening at Anfield.
Rayan Cherki prefers Liverpool move
Cherki was a player Liverpool were keeping an eye on heading into the summer transfer window, but a move for the Lyon star is now very unlikely, as the Reds close in on the signing of Wirtz.
GIVEMESPORT reported earlier this month that the French star’s preferred move was to make the switch to Anfield this summer, but with that seemingly off the cards, the 21-year-old is likely to be more receptive to joining Man City.
It remains to be seen what other clubs join the race for Cherki this summer, as the midfielder is a bargain if he can be signed for less than £25m.
With Gibbs-White also a target for City, it is uncertain how Guardiola plans to use both players if they arrive in Manchester ahead of the new season, but it is exciting for fans of the Premier League club to know that they will have strong options to choose from.
