Manchester City have been interested in Manuel Locatelli for the longest time as Pep Guardiola seeks a replacement for Fernandinho, but the Daily Express say their pursuit of the 23-year-old could become complicated after his impressive performances in this summer’s European Championships.
Locatelli was selected in Italy’s 26-man squad for the tournament by Roberto Mancini has been outstanding in his first two group games. The defensive midfielder plays his club football at US Sassuolo and originally had an asking price of £35m, but the Express say that number ‘could double’.
Locatelli joined AC Milan from Atalanta in 2010 and rose through the youth ranks to the first time in 2016, going on to make 63 appearances in all competitions. He joined Sassuolo on loan in 2018 and turned the move permanent in 2019, making a total of 99 appearances for the Serie A club, scoring seven goals with 11 assists.
The Italian international has scored two goals in as many games during the Euros this summer and has shone in Marco Verratti’s absence. His stock going up means more clubs will be interested and Sassuolo can play them off each other to drive up the price, so City might be spending a lot more than they’d originally thought.
In other news, Man City player ‘would like to leave’, 26 y/o ‘crestfallen’ move failed in 2020