The daily transfer gossip as well as a word on one of our EDS stars feature in your Thursday media round-up…
First up, we turn our attention to a very familiar name in this year’s transfer saga – Jorginho.
The Daily Mail claims that the deal could be completed next week following Italy’s upcoming friendly with Holland.
Chris Wheeler writes: “City hope to complete the £44million signing of Jorginho next week following talks between his agent Joao Santos and Napoli on Wednesday.
“The 26-year-old midfield playmaker is expected to join the Premier League champions after playing in Italy’s friendly against Holland on Monday.
“Chelsea were also interested in Jorginho but it seems the former Hellas Verona man is set for the Etihad.
“He played a key part in Napoli’s title challenge this season, though ultimately Mauricio Sarri’s side fell short of Juventus.
“Jorginho is highly admired and technically gifted in the centre of the pitch and would give Pep Guardiola another strong option.
“The midfielder was part of Roberto Mancini’s side that overcame Saudi Arabia 2-1 in a friendly on Monday.
“He is not going to the World Cup and remains keen on a switch to the Etihad Stadium after his representative Santos, twice met with City sporting director Txiki Begiristain.”
READ: Season review | March
Real Madrid midfielder Isco is also a name which has been flying around the rumour mill, but boss Pep Guardiola is adamant that the Spanish international will not be making the move to Manchester this summer.
“Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has emphatically ruled out the possibility of Isco joining the club during the summer transfer window,” Liam Corless of the Manchester Evening News reports. “The player came close to signing for City in 2013 before eventually making the switch from Malaga to Real Madrid.”
“Isco has repeatedly been linked with City ever since but Guardiola has now moved to put those rumours to bed.
“Asked by Spanish journalist Ignacio Miguelez if Isco will join his Premier League champions this summer, Guardiola responded: ‘No! Manchester City will not sign Isco.’
“The MEN last week confirmed Guardiola had placed Riyad Mahrez ahead of Isco on his summer wishlist.
“Isco is admired by City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain but Guardiola believes Mahrez better suits his requirements as he looks to improve his options up front.
“Despite growing talk that the 26-year-old will leave the Bernabeu this summer, Guardiola’s priority is to recruit a forward capable of providing more natural width.”
Finally, we finish today’s media watch with (wait for it!) something non-transfer related!
Features
City EDS star Matt Smith recently made his senior debut for Wales during a friendly against Mexico, and Ryan Giggs stated after the match that he is willing to give younger players the opportunity to step up.
Over the moon to make my international senior Debut???????,Thanks to everyone that has believed in me⚽️ pic.twitter.com/4N8Vxtm43e
— Matt Smith (@MattSmith) May 29, 2018
“I’ve learned that we’ve got quality in depth, we’ve got young players who, if they’re given a chance, they’ll take it,” the Wales boss said after the game, as quoted by the MEN.“That’s what I want. I want competitiveness between the squad, where we’re not just picking 11 or 12 players.
“We want a big pool of players to choose from.
“It’s always difficult as an international manager to know what your best side is because of players who are playing, players who are in good form and also we have a group of players who were amazing a few years ago at the Euros.
“But what I wanted to do was bring the quality just underneath that, which brings the quality up with the established players with younger players pushing for their places.”
That’s all for today’s media round-up but we will be back tomorrow with all the latest news from the back pages!
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