Man City transfer news: Four depart in Deadline Day cull

Man City transfer news: Bayern Munich hijack Leroy Sane deal

22 June

Today's the day the Sky Blues hope to clinch the signature of Leroy Sane but The Sun warns that "Bayern Munich are holding up the deal".

According to the paper the frontman's representatives have been in deep discussions with Schalke in the last 48 hours to finalise the £40m move to the Etihad. City gaffer Pep Guardiola, who until last month was in charge at Bayern, wants to have the move bagged and tagged by this afternoon but his former club have thrown a spanner in the works with what the Sun describes as "a last-ditch attempt to snap-up the 20-year-old".

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But the problem the German champs face is that don't want to sign Sane until next summer, once Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery have left the club. The pair are in their final year at the Allianz Arena and Bayern see Sane as the ideal man to replace them.

The Sun claims that Bayern will offer similar money and "other incentives including first refusal on players if Schalke block Sane's move to City". That's unlikely to work, however, with Schalke eager to reap the riches by selling Sane to City as soon as possible.

Still in Germany and the Daily Mail claims that City will have to beat interest from Atletico Madrid if they wish to land Borussia Dortmund frontman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The paper says the Spanish club have already had their opening bid for the Gabon goal machine rejected, which is believed to "significantly less than Dortmund's valuation".

That figure is £58m as the Germans look to price Aubameyang out of the market. City are reluctant to pay such a sum, but Atletico's interest may lead the Citizens to think again for a player Guardiola rates highly.

Man City transfer news: Real Madrid shootout for Lewandowski

17 June

Polish marksman Robert Lewandowski "is open to moving to the Premier League" claims The Sun and that's sparked an unseemly scramble among the English elite, all anxious to get their hands on the Bayern Munich striker who last season scored 42 goals.

Though Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been linked with Lewandowski, the Sun says that it looks like the drama will end with a straight shootout between Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Why the Sky Blues? "First and foremost" because of Pep Guardiola, explains the Sun, adding that the pair formed a strong working relationship at Bayern with the Spaniard describing the Pole as the “most professional player” he has encountered.

Secondly, Guardiola has been given a huge war chest by the City board with money no object to restore the club's pride after their mediocre performance last season. Consequently City will be able to offer Lewandowski the sort of wages that few other clubs can afford.

The Citizens are also in the lead in the race to sign Schalke starlet Leroy Sane, reports the Manchester Evening News. It says City have moved ahead of local rivals Man United in the transfer tussle and are "in the box-seat for the £40m-rated winger".

Man City transfer news: Yaya Toure rejects move to Italy or China

16 June

It looks like Pep Guardiola will be stuck with Yaya Toure after the Ivory Coast midfielder rejected approaches from clubs in Italy and China.

Earlier in the year it was widely speculated that the 33-year-old would move on from the Etihad in the summer despite the fact his contract with the Sky Blues runs until June 2017. But according to the Daily Mirror Toure is "ready to dig in his heels and see out the final year of his deal". Why? Possibly the fact that not many other clubs would be prepared to pay a player in the twilight of his career £220,000-a-week in wages.

Ironically, it was Guardiola who sold Toure from Barcelona to City for £24m back in 2010 and there seems little chance that he'll pick the midfielder on a regular basis this coming season, preferring instead to rely on Ilkay Gudongan, a recent purchase from Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile the Daily Star says that Guardiola is about to activate the release clause in the contract of Celta Vigo striker Nolito. It will cost City £14m to do so, but the paper says that the pair know each other from Barcelona and the Citizens boss believes the 29-year-old Nolito, currently playing for Spain at the Euros, would thrive in the Premier League.

Man City transfer news: Leroy Sane deal off, John Stones wanted

15 June

Manchester City must be mad if they think they've signed Leroy Sane, says Talksport. Reports earlier in the week claimed that Pep Guardiola was close to a deal for the 20-year-old frontman with the more excitable elements of the media claiming City were poised to hand over £40m to Schalke.

But now the Bundesliga club have pooh-poohed the story. Asked by the German tabloid Bild if Sane was about to move to the Etihad, Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel boomed: "The story is incorrect, nothing has changed with Leroy Sane." In other words, the youngster is remaining at Schalke and has no intention of joining City or Barcelona, the other club said to be circling.

But if one chase has gone cold for the Sky Blues another might be hotting up with The Guardian reporting that they have made an inquiry "about the availability of the former Manchester United and Barcelona player Víctor Valdes". The former Barcelona goalkeeper had a miserable time of it at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal but it seems that Guardiola still believes Valdes - who he coached during his time in charge at the Camp Nou - has something to offer between the sticks.

Valdes has spent the last six months on loan at Standard Liege but with his United contract expiring at the end of this month, Guardiola is set to invite him to stay in the city but simply move to the blue half.

Talking of Manchester battles, the Daily Star says that United manager Jose Mourinho and Guardiola are "locked in a £50m battle to sign John Stones". The Everton defender is expected to leave Merseyside this summer and Guardiola is anxious to win the race to his hand having failed in his recent attempt to sign Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte. The French defender has just penned a new deal with the Spanish outfit and as a result, says the Star, the City gaffer will look to "lure England defender Stones to the Etihad and steal him from under the nose of Mourinho".