Manchester City have settled on their “ideal replacement” for Kalvin Phillips and could look to sign him when the market reopens in January - according to reports.
Speculation over 27-year-old former Leeds United midfielder Phillips and his future at the Etihad Stadium remains at fever pitch. He has even spoken recently about being open to a transfer. City spent £45million on Phillips last summer. However, the playmaker has only been handed five starts for City in all competitions since then and he remains on the periphery.
Reports from TNT Sports state City will look to sign Exequiel Palacios in January and that will effectively mark the end of Phillips’ career at the club. Palacios, 25, currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and was part of the Argentina squad that won the World Cup in Qatar last winter.
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Elsewhere, reports from Football Insider suggest City would demand £50million to sell Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne next summer as they might find it difficult to reject an offer to that tune. De Bruyne has been linked with a move to the lucrative Saudi Pro League as he continues to recover from injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo sparked up a mass exodus to the Gulf state when signing for Al-Nassr after his second act with Manchester United ended on a sour note midway through last season. Since then, other household names such as Neymar and Karim Benzema have followed those footsteps.
De Bruyne and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah are reportedly on radar for the PIF-backed teams next summer. The former has only made one appearance for City this season.
City would naturally want to keep De Bruyne in an ideal world. However, that article explains they might entertain any offers deemed too good to turn down.
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