Iheanacho to Spurs could help Blues land Walker
TOTTENHAM are said to be ready to take Kelechi Iheanacho as part of City’s bid to land Kyle Walker.
The Blues striker is thought to be close to sealing a move to Leicester City, with claims that he has agreed personal terms in a five-year deal with the Foxes.
And with Leicester willing to meet the £25m asking price, it is thought that only a haggle about a buy-back clause was holding up the deal.
But reports suggest Spurs have joined the chase for Iheanacho, who was also the subject of interest from West Ham and Everton.
If correct, that could oil the wheels of City’s bid for unsettled Spurs right-back Walker, which has stalled on the asking price of £50m.
City were hoping to bring in three new full-backs BEFORE they fly out for the pre-season tour of the USA next week, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.
Dani Alves is now set to join Paris St Germain, but the Blues are thought to be close to securing left-back Benjamin Mendy from Monaco in a £40m deal.
Any delay would mean that the only recognised full-back in the tour squad will be Aleks Kolarov – and even he is regarded more of a centre-back these days!
Iheanacho reported back for training at City on Monday and is currently scheduled to fly out on tour with the rest of the squad next week.
But that will change if his transfer gets sorted quickly – although any Spurs interest will only serve to delay that. CITY’S plans for next season have hit an unexpected bump in the road with news of Dani Alves’ rejection.
The former Barcelona and Juventus defender was expected to be an important part of Pep Guardiola’s squad next season but is instead set to join French side Paris Saint-Germain.
Losing Alves will not be fatal to City’s hopes of success, but it will have ramifications for the squad and the rest of the transfer window. Here is where it leaves the manager and the club. ALVES looks set to follow in Aymeric Laporte’s footsteps in snubbing Guardiola - and you suspect this will hurt the Catalan a lot more.
It’s the first major setback of the summer following an excellent start to his transfer business, but it does leave a hole even if Kyle Walker is brought in. Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta have both been allowed to leave the club, Pablo Maffeo is expected to go on loan to Girona while next-in-line Demeaco Duhaney does not appear to be in consideration for the tour to the US.
If City are not going to gamble with playing Fernandinho or anyone else out of position for a whole year, a rethink may be required on their internal options. ON the one hand, Alves would have been a peculiar signing.
For Guardiola to moan about inheriting an old team and then sign a 34-year-old would take some explaining.
However, he has also made it plain how much he values experience and the know-how in big situations - and was concerned by the way his side froze in big games last season.
A serial winner at Barcelona, Alves would have been a valuable asset in the dressing room as well as providing cover and rotation for the first choice right-back next season.
Will Guardiola need to find that elsewhere or can/will City just do without? Convincing a player to come and be second choice in their position at any club can’t be an easy sell. CITY remain confident they can secure the services of Walker from Spurs, but not signing Alves will make it more difficult.
Knowing that Guardiola needs the right-back that little bit more than he did when he thought Alves was in the bag could encourage Spurs chief Daniel Levy to eke out even more money.
Monaco could follow suit with Benjamin Mendy. Having been prepared to play hardball over a number of deals this summer, Begiristain’s stance may have to soften to speed up City’s plans. GUARDIOLA ended his first season at City by declaring them unable to compete with the best clubs in the transfer market. If the coach’s status and ways of persuasion have increased the club’s appeal, there is clearly work to be done to ensure that more deals get over the line and losing out on players become more and more of an exception.