Gundogan going nowhere
There is good news for Manchester City fans today, with The Sun reporting that Ilkay Gundogan will “reject Barcelona interest” and pledge his loyalty to the Premier League champions.
The German international has two years to run on his current City deal, and he’s ready to sit down with officials to
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Barcelona and AC Milan circling
The main issue is likely to be wages. The Sun reports that the 27-year-old playmaker is currently earning £90,000 a week and is seeking a pay hike.
Barcelona have been circling with the promise of a bumper deal, and there is also interest from AC Milan and a “number of clubs in the Bundesliga”.
But Gundogan is settled in Manchester under manager Pep Guardiola, according to the newspaper. A City insider said: “Ilkay is happy here and the club want to keep him. There is interest in him but it is expected he will stay… he loves playing under Pep, but who wouldn’t? He also enjoys living in Manchester and the city and club as a whole.”
Talks are expected to start in the autumn, with City hoping to have successfully concluded a new deal by the end of the year.
Wolves bare their teeth
The Manchester Evening News (MEN) has an update on rumours of Ruben Neves moving to Manchester in January.
The Wolves midfielder has been linked to both City and Manchester United, and a bidding war is expected in the new year.
The newspaper claims that Guardiola has “earmarked the 21-year-old as a January target, having missed out on Jorginho and Fred in the summer”, and that United boss Jose Mourinho also likes the look of the 21-year-old Portuguese playmaker.
£60m or shut it
But Wolves are highly protective of Neves, who only recently signed a new five-year deal with them. The MEN says it will “cost a minimum of £60m to prise him away from Molineux”.
That sounds like an attempt to call the bluff of the Manchester pair, given that Neves cost Wolves a mere £15.8m when they signed him from Porto in the summer of 2017.
Costa clash
Meanwhile, Caught Offside reports that City and United are also set for a scrap over Douglas Costa, the Juventus winger who has been impressing for the Serie A champions recently.
Italian media outlets say that the two Manchester clubs are ready to “explore the possibility of signing him next year”, with the Brazilian international keen to test himself in the Premier League.
United believe they are in the driving seat as they could offer former Juve midfielder Paul Pogba in return for Costa.
