Sassuolo captain Francesco Manganelli believes his teammate Manuel Locatelli has the ability to play at the highest level for clubs like Manchester City and Barcelona.

Locatelli has been linked with the Citizens, along with Arsenal and Chelsea in recent weeks, and Manganelli thinks the Italian international is a top player:

“Playing close to him is simple: he is a modern, complete midfielder. He can be placed in front of the defense or battle with those on the wing. For me, he can play for any top-level European team, including Barcelona and Manchester City. He has an ease of handling the ball which is surprising.”

Although Locatelli would almost certainly have the quality to play in the Premier League, it seems as though the 23-year-old is keen on staying in Italy.

Juventus are said to be locked in talks with Sassuolo to snap up the midfielder and it appears that his preference is a switch to the Old Lady.

With City investing all of their resources into signing Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, they may not have the finances to fund a move for Locatelli anyway.

Both Grealish and Kane are expected to cost in excess of £100m, with the Manchester club keen on offloading some players in order to balance the books.