Iheanacho ‘looks set for switch to Hammers’
KELECHI Iheanacho’s agent appears to have confirmed that he will leave City and sign for West Ham.
It is widely accepted that the 20-year-old will leave the Etihad in the summer as he has fallen further down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint Germain are both reported to be interested in the forward but his representative has told a website in Nigeria that he is likely to join West Ham.
Owngoalnigeria.com report the agent said: “Talks with West Ham are very advanced I must confess, and barring any last minute hiccup he will end up joining them.
“If not them then any other team in England but not outside England.
“He is not interested in a move away from England for now. He is two years away from getting his papers as a citizen, so moving away from England at this time is a non-starter, particularly as they are interested in him from England.
“That said offers have come in from outside England, but his immediate priority is to stay in England, reasons why the offer from West Ham ticks the right box.”
It has been reported that West Ham are prepared to pay around £20m to sign the Nigerian international.
ESPN report that there is a delay to his deal while a legal dispute with his former agent is resolved.
A judgement in that case is anticipated within the next two weeks and then West Ham can proceed with the deal, according to the report. PEP Guardiola has been set a target of leading City to the treble.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has set out his ambitions for Guardiola’s reign – even claiming the Catalan should have his eyes on an unprecedented quadruple.
Guardiola endured his first trophyless season in his debut campaign at the Etihad after winning 21 titles in seven years at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But he will be handed £300m to overhaul his squad this summer, with Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson on the verge of completing a £34.7m move from Benfica.
Khaldoon, who on Tuesday insisted there was nothing to celebrate from Guardiola’s debut season in English football, has made it clear the club expects him to deliver unprecedented silverware.
Manuel Pellegrini was famously set a target of five trophies in as many years and City’s Abu Dhabi owners have raised the bar even higher. But Khaldoon insists Guardiola is totally on board with the ambitions of the club.
“The dream of doing the treble, yes,” he told City in-house TV channel.
“I want to do the treble, or else let’s go for the quadruple! Why not?
“We should have that aspiration. I have it, no doubt.
“Sheikh Mansour drives me for it every day, but you look at the organisation, you see it in Pep’s eyes in everybody within our group.
“Pep wants to win it all and that’s what I love most about him because that’s how I feel – we want to win it all.
“We might not be able to achieve it, but I can assure you, we’re going to try to do that.”
Ederson will join Bernardo Silva as City look to wrap up their business early this summer.
Alexis Sanchez, Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy, Leonardo Bonucci and Virgil van Dijk are also targets.
Khaldoon added: “We have a great manager, we’re all working behind him, supporting him. “We are going to do our work this summer. The trajectory is right and I’m very optimistic. Next year is going to be a massive year for us. Expectations are high, ambitions are high. “I have a lot of hope that we’re going to come back next season very strong and I hope we can deliver to our fans an incredible season next year. “My hunger for winning, it’s amazing. When we first won the league, I thought this is it, the greatest feeling you can get in football, you can’t beat this feeling. “When we won it the second time, and you want to win it more, you get hungry – hungrier and hungrier. “It excites me trying to win the Champions League and winning the Champions League. “That ambition of winning the Champions League and hopefully doing it. “That dream excites me every day and knowing we can do it.” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, City chairman