Our Manchester City fans here in the Transfer Tavern aren’t giving up on winning the Premier League just yet and are getting excited over a report in Jutarnji they could be going for Ivan Rakitic.

The Citizens are behind Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs in the Premier League table with seven points the gap between them and the summit.

And, after Spurs beat Chelsea last time out in the league, our local City punters are confident that the Blues can be reeled in.

Pep Guardiola’s men certainly look threatening on paper but defensively they have been poor this year yet the report seems to be suggesting it’s midfield where the Spaniard wants to strengthen.

City already have a class looking midfield but with Rakitic in it looks even better.

Don’t just take our word for it, though, have a look for yourselves because it really is scarcely believable…

CDM: Fernandinho

The Brazilian midfielder has performed well at times this season and gets the nod here.

He’s shown a real maturity in his passing game but just needs to cool things down on the tackling front with an incredible three red cards in his past six games. Once Ilkay Gundogan is fit, Fernandinho may find it hard to get minutes but for now he makes this nice looking midfield.

CDM: Ivan Rakitic

This is where our landlord feels Rakitic would fit in.

He’s played in this deep-lying role whilst at Barcelona and certainly has all the attributes to be the midfield metronome Pep Guardiola is so fond of having. He had one of the hardest acts in world football to follow at the Nou Camp in Xavi but has actually done a decent enough job. The Croatian is a class act and would make City an even more impressive unit going forward.

CAM: David Silva

Speaking of hard acts to follow, City really will struggle to find the successor to David Silva.

The diminutive Spaniard may not get the goals of Sergio Aguero or Kevin De Bruyne but he is no less important to the side and is crucial to Pep Guardiola’s plans. The man glides around the pitch with ease and looks as though he has the ball on a piece of string as he finds the most audacious of passes.

RAM: Raheem Sterling

The pacy winger has come on a great deal under Guardiola and just needs to find that extra level of consistency.

It’s easy to forget, though, he is still very young despite being around in the Premier League for a good while now and so to hammer him for poor performances doesn’t seem overly fair. He’s surely only going to get better and that is a very frightening prospect indeed.

LAM: Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne is world class.

The Belgian can do things many other Premier League players could only dream of and that makes him a real asset to City going forwards. He’s adept at playing out wide and in the middle so whilst Raheem Sterling can fly down the flanks, he and David Silva can interchange easily to cause opposition defences nightmares.

Thoughts, City fans? Let us know below!