Manchester City are one of three clubs to have made “concrete moves” for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte, according to Le10 Sport.
The French magazine claims that Pep Guardiola’s side have joined rivals Manchester United and Barcelona in pursuing the Uruguayan international.
Ugarte only moved to PSG from Sporting Lisbon last summer for €60m (£51m), but the Ligue One champions are said to be willing to offload him just twelve months after his arrival at the Parc des Princes.
It is believed that they are hoping to recoup the fee that they paid for the 23-year-old if City or another team do formalise their interest in the player.
Why are City interested in Ugarte?
Several midfielders could potentially leave the Premier League champions over the coming weeks. The club are open to selling Kalvin Phillips after the England international struggled on loan at West Ham last season.
City are also reportedly willing to listen to offers for Matheus Nunes, barely a year after he joined from Wolves. Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva may depart too under the right circumstances.
Are the club tracking any other midfielders?
While Ugarte’s availability may have piqued City’s interest, his rather average technical ability may lead to the club considering different targets instead.
Benfica’s Joao Neves has been scouted but the major obstacle to signing the Portuguese international is his asking price, which currently stands at €120m (£101m).
Other names, such as RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, PSG’s Xavi Simons and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz are more attack-minded players.
You do feel that the most realistic target is Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich. The 29-year-old has less than a year left on his contract and it is thought that he could be on the market for just €30m (£25m) this summer.
