Manchester City Transfer News Roundup: Citizens interested in £70m EPL midfielder, Claudio Bravo replacement identified and more — 19th August 2020
Manchester City are set to have a busy summer as manager Pep Guardiola aims to reclaim the Premier League crown from Liverpool by making suitable additions to his squad.
In this regard, the Citizens have already completed the signing of winger Ferran Torres from Valencia as a replacement for Leroy Sane and have also acquired defender Nathan Ake from Bournemouth.
Here is the latest from the Etihad on 19th August, 2020.
Manchester City are interested in Jack Grealish
Manchester City are interested in Jack Grealish, according to journalist David Ornstein. The Aston Villa captain scored eight goals and contributed six assists as his boyhood club managed to stay afloat in the Premier League in their first season back in England's top division.
City's neighbours Manchester United have been heavily linked with Grealish as well. But the Red Devils have cooled their interest on the player due to Villa's high asking price, which is close to £70 million.
Speaking about the 24-year-old, Ornstein said:
"My understanding is that actually, Manchester City have shown more interest than Manchester United at this point in time; we know that Aston Villa will want to keep him."
"They may even want him to sign a new contract. I think Grealish would be happy to move on to a Champions League club this summer. He’s given great service to Aston Villa, but the amount of money that Villa’s wealthy owners would want for him in the transfer fee may prevent that from happening."
Manchester City find a replacement for Claudio Bravo
Manchester City have already decided on a replacement for their second-choice goalkeeper Claudio Bravo who left the club after his contract ended.
Zack Steffen, who has been on loan at German club Fortuna Dusseldorf, will return to Manchester. Manchester City bought Steffen last summer from Columbus Crew for £5.2million, an MLS record for a shot-stopper.
The USA goalkeeper had an impressive start to the campaign in Germany but suffered a medial cruciate ligament which restricted him to just 17 appearances for the now relegated German side.
Nevertheless, Steffen's impressive performances for Dusseldorf urged Sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel to heap praises on the goalkeeper:
"Zack had a brilliant start to the season and showed that he has the potential to become a top keeper at the European level. He has all the ingredients (in this regard)."
"He has a very clean goalkeeping technique: good reactions, good hands, and good command in the box. His distribution and game-opening skills make him a modern keeper. Looking at all of that, it is not a surprise that Manchester City went for Zack."
Manchester City monitoring Brazilian wonderkid
Manchester City are monitoring 16-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Alison Matheus, according to Sport Witness.
The striker has outscored the likes of Neymar, Gabigol and Rodrygo (now at Real Madrid) after coming through the famed Santos youth setup.
Matheus has also been linked with a move to Real Madrid, who have recently invested heavily on Brazilian youngsters.
However, Manchester City struck gold with the signature of Gabriel Jesus from Brazil, which has paved the way for more Brazilian players to arrive in the Premier League.