Manchester City are set to lose out to Juventus in the race to sign highly-rated Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.
Pep Guardiola has been in the hunt for a long-term replacement for Fernandinho in recent transfer windows, having missed out on the signing of Jorginho to Chelsea last summer.
Man City to lose £60m fight for Lyon's Tanguy Ndombele | @mcgrathmike https://t.co/vU27FC4sEV pic.twitter.com/azh9QqNCoB
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) April 19, 2019
Fernandinho remains an integral figure in the Citizens' engine room but, at the age of 33, City have been linked with a move for Ligue 1 star Ndombele as a potential successor to the Brazilian. However, according to the Sun, Juventus are set to win the race for the Frenchman.
The Serie A giants are well on course to retain their title this season but suffered the recent disappointment of a shock elimination from the quarter finals of the Champions League at the hands of Ajax in midweek.
A summer of upheaval in Turin now appears likely, with reports suggesting that I Bianconeri have even held talks with Antonio Conte over replacing Massimiliano Allegri as manager, and it appears that the Italians will also be strong players in the transfer market.
It is said that Juve are closing in on the £60m capture of Ndombele, who has also been linked with moves to Manchester United and Tottenham, as a potential bidding war for the 22-year-old appeared to be on the cards.
However, with the suggestion that Juventus have virtually won the race to sign the Frenchman at such an early stage, City will apparently turn their attentions elsewhere.
Atletico Madrid duo Saul Niguez and Rodri Hernandez are said to be on the agenda at the Etihad, while Borussia Dortmund anchorman Julian Weigl is also of interest to Guardiola's side.
Weigl has fallen out of favour for the Bundesliga side under Lucien Favre this term and could be allowed to leave for just £22m - a relative snip by comparison to the £68m he was valued at last summer, and to the £60m required to land Ndombele after his impressive season in France.
#Inter have started talks with Manchester City for Danilo. He’s the main target as right back for next season, the first bid will be made soon. #MCFC #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 19, 2019
However, the Citizens are apparently likely to face competition from PSG for Weigl, who are managed by the German's former boss Thomas Tuchel, as City's transfer campaign looks set to face as much competition as they have seen from Liverpool in the title race this term.
Source : 90min