The Blues have been linked with Napoli’s Jorginho for several weeks but several media outlets suggest encouraging progress has been made with a deal suggested to be imminent.
Report Sky: “Manchester City expect to complete the £46m signing of Napoli midfielder Jorginho this week, according to Sky in Italy.
“The final details between the clubs are being sorted - with one particular sticking point believed to be the five per cent sell-ons that are due to the midfielder’s previous club Verona.
“But Sky in Italy believe the deal will be finalised by the end of the week.
“The Italy international has posted a picture on Instagram boarding a flight at the end of a family holiday to Brazil and is expected to head for Manchester for a medical when an agreement is reached.
“Jorginho made 37 appearances for Napoli last season, scoring three goals, including one against City in the Champions League in November.”
Meanwhile, Caught Offside suggest Chelsea’s Eden Hazard could yet emerge as a serious target for the Blues.
As hard as it is to imagine the West Londoners sanctioning the sale of their prized asset to a Premier League rival, the report reads: “Manchester City may have been handed a serious transfer boost regarding a swoop for Chelsea forward Eden Hazard.
“This is because Don Balon report that new Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui does not want the club to pursue the potential signing this summer.
“Hazard remains keen on the move to the Bernabeu, says Don Balon, but it may be that he’ll have to look elsewhere if he is to escape Stamford Bridge.
“Last season was undoubtedly a disappointing one for a player of the Belgian’s calibre, with the Blues no longer in the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League.
“Hazard ensured the season ended on a high with the winning goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup final, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he had his heart set on bigger things.
“Manchester City were recently linked by the Daily Star with a £100million interest in the 27-year-old, who’d be an ideal fit for the way City play under Pep Guardiola.
“Hazard notably had a quiet game against City as Chelsea lost 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium last season, when he was surprisingly used up front and barely got a touch of the ball, which would not be the case at a possession-based side like City, who will also surely be serious contenders in both the Premier League and Champions League next season.”
Finally, Leicester Live report that Algerian playmaker Riyad Mahrez is keen to progress a reported move to City after suggestions of an impasse between the Blues and the Foxes.
With pre-season training looming for Premier League clubs, the former PFA Player of the Year is said to be keen on pushing a deal through sooner rather than later.
The article says: “Reports in Algeria state that Mahrez is growing increasingly frustrated at the delays as he faces another transfer window without his desired move to the champions.
“National newspaper Le Buteur claims an agreement in principle has been reached between the two clubs and that the deal should still go through, but it is claimed Leicester are delaying the deal by demanding £65m - £13m more than Manchester City are currently offering.
“The report also states that Mahrez is upset because he believed he had an agreement with Leicester to avoid the same problems as January, when Mahrez missed two games and several days of training because of his disappointment at the Foxes’ strong stance.
“Le Butuer claims Mahrez believed after all he had achieved with City that the club would soften their stance over his desire to move on, although it states the transfer is still expected to happen.
“If no agreement is reached, Mahrez is due to return for pre-season training with the rest of the Leicester players who have not been involved in the World Cup on July 2.”
As ever, all official transfer business will appear on mancity.com first - as for Wednesday’s media speculation, that’s all for this morning.
