Manchester City reportedly want Wolves star Raul Jimenez and one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants is being linked to Barcelona.
Welcome to the latest edition of the City Is Ours daily round-up, where we run through some of the most eye-catching stories of the past 24 hours.
Despite Manchester City continually being linked with a variety of players across Europe, one figure could sensationally be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium if you believe the latest murmurings from Catalonia around crisis club Barcelona.
The striker discussion looks set to roll through each day until the transfer window reopens, and City have been linked not only with a Premier League talent but also one of the finest young attackers in Serie A.
City face competition from Italian giants for Premier League favourite
Since arriving in the Premier League with Wolves, Mexico striker Raul Jiminez has attracted a host of admirers.
Despite him missing a year through a horrific head injury, Jimenez is now back amongst the goals, which begins to explain why he is once again so sought after.
Juventus have been previously linked with the striker, but Tuttomercatoweb reports the Italian giants will face competition from City for Jimenez. The 30-year-old still has plenty to offer and consistently plays at a high level in England’s top flight.
If City were to sign him, although it wouldn’t be a long term solution, he would certainly make an impact at the Etihad Stadium and offer a physical presence not usually associated with Pep Guardiola’s attack. Although he hasn’t had the best time as Arsenal manager, nobody could blame Mikel Arteta for leaving his assistant coach role at City to try his hand at being the main man at another big club.
History could be about to repeat itself, as Arteta replacement and Guardiola’s great friend Juanma Lillo has been linked with a move to Barcelona – as per Catalan sports daily Mundo Deportivo.
We all know Ronald Koeman hasn’t exactly won the Barcelona fans over since he took over at the Camp Nou, and a chastening 3-0 defeat to Benfica in midweek looks to have pushed him closer to the exit door.
Guardiola has previously hailed Lillo as a tactical visionary and credited him with a key role in City’s success last season. However, a patchy and nomadic record as a head coach in his own right means it would be surprising to Lillo parachuted into Barca’s deepening crisis.
It just wouldn’t be a media round-up without Manchester City being linked to a striker, and today we have two for the price of one in that regard!
According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, the Blues are ‘dreaming’ of signing Serie A star Dusan Vlahovic amid uncertainty over his current situation at Fiorentina.
The report suggests Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso is less than happy with Vlahovic’s agent, after trying for months to convince the 21-year-old forward to sign a new contract at the club.
However, his stance on Vlahovic’s representative might only make things more tense, which could have open the door for City to move for a player who was first linked as something of a sub-plot to the Harry Kane saga.
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