City chip away at Granit
MANCHESTEr CITY are considering a move for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Pep Guardiola wants to bring the 23-year-old with him from Germany in the summer, although Monchengladbach are demanding around £39million for the Switzerland starlet.
But Xhaka is thought to have a £23m release clause that comes into play in the summer of 2017 and City would prefer to pay closer to that figure.
The player, whose current deal runs until 2019, is also open to a move to the Barclays Premier League and could act as a replacement for Yaya Toure, who is expected to leave at the end of the season.
Arsenal and Liverpool are also monitoring Xhaka but the opportunity to work with Guardiola, who will leave Bayern Munich at the end of this season, could persuade him to choose City. Arsenal showed strong interest in Xhaka in the January transfer window but Monchengladbach insist no formal bid was made.
Arsene Wenger sent staff to watch him play against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League in December and also to Bundesliga matches in Germany.
Xhaka was tipped as a suitable replacement for 34-year-old Xabi Alonso at the Allianz Arena but could snub a move to Bayern to play in the Premier League.
He has said he would be fulfilling a ‘childhood dream’ to play in England.