Man City ‘throw hat in the ring’ for £132m Borussia Dortmund star

Pep Guardiola recently tipped Phil Foden to transition into a central midfielder, so he’ll be overstocked in the engine room with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Kalvin Phillips.

The Manchester City manager is always looking to the future, however, and may be planning for De Bruyne (aged 31) and Gundogan’s (aged 31) eventual exits. Silva has come close to leaving in the last two summer transfer windows too, so it might be sensible to have a replacement lined up.

Sport1 chief reporter Patrick Berger (h/t Sport Witness) says City consider Jude Bellingham as the perfect option to strengthen their midfield, but there is stiff competition for the 19-year-old as he’s been in fine form at Borussia Dortmund – 102 appearances in two years at the club.

Berger said: “There are many clubs that are already on him. Liverpool Real, City, Chelsea, United – everyone threw their hats in the ring. But it’s not yet so far that you can talk of anything concrete.”

Dortmund are resigned to losing their top talents to the biggest clubs, but they recognise Bellingham’s value as a regular for club and country, so it might take a €150m (£132m) bid to sign him.

The 19-year-old has three years remaining on his deal at Signal Iduna Park and has nearly every big clubs circling in on him, so City might be rushed into making an approach so their rivals don’t beat them to the punch.

In other news, Paul Dickov says Erling Haaland ‘is ridiculous’

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