Manchester City supporters have been in fine voice in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their side come through two mammoth tests against Huddersfield Town and Southampton to remain eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s men were tipped by many to go on and win the title this season, and they have certainly lived up to expectations so far by winning 13 of their opening 14 league games, although their most recent two were arguably their toughest. The Citizens needed an 84th minute winner from Raheem Sterling to edge past newly-promoted Huddersfield 2-1 on Sunday before Sterling came up with the goods once again on Wednesday night, curling a wonderful effort beyond the despairing Fraser Forster six minutes into injury time to see off Southampton 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Consequently, there have been many joyous City fans in the Tavern in recent times, and they may be intrigued by a recent report from SMK.SE (via Calcio Mercato), which outlines a potentially key update in the Citizens’ reported pursuit of Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar.
The 22-year-old only moved to the Serie A giants back in the summer after impressing at Sampdoria, and he has hit the ground running at the San Siro by starting all 14 of their league games so far, in which time he has bagged two goals.
And his excellent start to life in Milan has reportedly attracted the interest of Barcelona and Manchester City, both of whom are likely to be interested by recent comments from the player’s agent.
He said: ‘Inter are not in a position where they have to sell and I can not imagine Inter selling Skriniar for less than €50 million, in my opinion the bid should be higher.
‘Milan is doing very well, playing excellently and his stock, of course, has risen but it is too early to talk about a move to Barcelona or Manchester City.’
And these comments are sure to intrigue our resident City fans, who know that their side have the financial power to lure Skriniar to the Etihad Stadium, but it’s another thing being able to do so.
Landlord’s verdict: Milan Skriniar only moved to Inter Milan in the summer, yet his impressive efforts in the heart of their backline has already raised questions about where his future lies.
Both Barcelona and Manchester City are reportedly interested in the 22-year-old, and they now know that they will have to shell out at least €50 million for the Slovakia international, a figure his agent unsurprisingly reckons should be more.
And this is likely to interest Citizens manager Pep Guardiola, who could well be on the lookout for centre-back reinforcements in January given the recent injury to John Stones, but whether he is willing to meet his hefty price-tag remains to be seen.
Man City fans… what do you make of the news? Let us know!
