Manchester City eye attacking midfield duo and Bournemouth defender in sensational ‘ideal world’ transfer window | OneFootball

A new report has pointed towards Manchester City’s ‘ideal’ transfer window this summer, largely focussed on improving central areas of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

The Etihad Stadium is due to oversee a changeover in a senior position within their recruitment department come the end of the season as Txiki Begiristain leaves his post as director of football after 12 seasons.

Having played a key role in identifying a suitable successor, it was confirmed last Autumn that Hugo Viana would be joining Manchester City, and the 42-year-old began full-time work at the City Football Academy earlier this month ahead of becoming sporting director in the summer.

And the former Sporting CP official has plenty of work to oversee too, particularly given Kevin De Bruyne’s pending departure from the Etihad Stadium with Manchester City opting not to offer the 33-year-old a new deal to extend his stay beyond this summer.

With a number of positions set to be assessed and refreshed over the course of the coming weeks and into the summer, a new report has named three players in particular that could welcome in a new phase in the club’s future.

According to the information of Football Transfers’ Steve Kay, Manchester City expect to receive a minimum of £50 million just for participating in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, while sell-on clauses and player sales will raise significant funds for investment in the squad.

As such, it is explained that in an ideal world within the Etihad Stadium, enough money could be received to potentially sign both Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Olympique Lyonnai’s Rayan Cherki, while also strengthening other positions within Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Manchester City are said to be admirers of Bournemouth’s in-demand left-back Milos Kerkez, but will not engage in a bidding war with other suitors including Premier League champions-elect, Liverpool.

Elsewhere and the four-in-a-row Premier League champions are interested in a deal for Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso, and the Italian’s flexibility to operate in a number of roles would likely put him ahead of other candidates in the eyes of Manchester City.

The Etihad club did explore the possibility of doing a deal with the Old Lady during the January window, but club briefings to various quarters of the media indicated that the 25-year-old was more of a target for the summer.

It also remains to be seen what approach Manchester City will take with regards to Morgan Gibbs-White, with the understanding being that the Premier League giants will be frontrunners for the Nottingham Forest star’s signature when the season concludes.