According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City are ‘in talks’ with Borussia Monchengladbach over Denis Zakaria. We’re said to have a ‘good relationship’ with the 23-year-old’s agent and want to procure his signature next summer.
Pep Guardiola has Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Fernandinho to call upon in midfield, but Rodri isn’t a prolific ball-winner and the 35-year-old Fernandinho is out of contract in 2021, so we might need a new face in the engine room.
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Zakaria joined Gladbach from BSC Young Boys in 2017 and has gone on to make 98 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals with six assists.
The Swiss international hasn’t featured for the German outfit this season, however, as he’s currently recovering from a long-term knee injury picked up in March and there’s no prediction on when he could return.
Regardless, it appears progress is being made on the transfer front, so his injury clearly hasn’t put us off. CIES Football Observatory say Zakaria is valued at €20m-€30m (£18.1m-£27.2m) and Transfermarkt believe he’s worth £36m.
Christian Falk from SportBILD (h/t Sport Illustrated) said last month that City are lining up a €40m (£36m) bid, so let’s see where this one goes.