Real Madrid enter competition to sign in-demand midfielder with Manchester City battling for January transfer | OneFootball

Manchester City have been joined by Real Madrid in the race to sign one of Europe’s most in-demand midfield talents, according to a new report.

The Premier League champions are widely understood to be on the hunt for more than one new signing in the upcoming winter transfer window, and as part of that search, they are set to invest significantly in the central midfield ranks.

Rodri’s long-term injury and Mateo Kovacic’s fitness problems have added to issues in personnel elsewhere, but the central role within Guardiola’s system is important and an ageing Ilkay Gundogan has unsurprisingly not covered enough ground to make up for losses.

As such, Manchester City are eyeing further strength in that position and whilst there has been recent conversation about interest in Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi and Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes, another name continues to sit within media reports.

That is Atalanta’s Éderson who has endured a rapid rise to the very top of the European game during his relatively short time with the Italian giants thus far, subsequently attracting interest from across the continent.

According to the information of journalist Rômulo Giacomin, Real Madrid have now ‘entered the competition’ for Atalanta and Brazil midfielder Éderson with Atlético Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.

It is claimed that all named clubs are currently in the process of ‘studying the possibility’ of presenting proposals to the Serie A club for the player in the upcoming January transfer window, in what will ‘not be an easy negotiation’.

For the time being, it remains unclear as to whom Manchester City’s number one priority target for a deep-lying defensive midfield role would be, whilst there are some concerns as to whether players would be open to the challenge.

Additionally, some players are somewhat intrigued over what the future could hold for them beyond Rodri’s ongoing absence from the squad, and whether they would be restricted to a back-up role upon his return.

As such, Manchester City may prefer a solution that has the ability to operate in a more advanced role, with Pep Guardiola known to be a personal big fan of Newcastle’s club captain, Bruno Guimaraes.

The Premier League champions rejected the opportunity to sign the 27-year-old during the last summer market, at a time when any club could have secured his services for a £100 million release clause.