Manchester City are reportedly considering an unprecedented swap deal with Newcastle United as they aim to bring two highly rated players to the Etihad.
A week on from winning the Carabao Cup in dominant fashion against Arsenal, Manchester City’s season is well and truly hanging in the balance.
Although unlikely, Pep Guardiola’s side could still win a domestic treble, with a mouth-watering FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool to come after the international break. They also remain nine points behind Arsenal, with eight games left to play, having played one game fewer than the Gunners.
Despite still having two trophies to play for this campaign, the club are already seemingly planning for the summer transfer window.
As reported by TEAMtalk, Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson and Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali are top of City’s wishlist, with a likely combined cost of around £190 million. However, the 10-time English champions are unlikely to pay such a hefty fee for both players.
Sandro Tonali is attracting interest from Premier League clubs (Credit:Getty)
There may still be a solution, though.
According to GOAL, City are considering a swap deal involving six players in total, with the Manchester club also interested in full-back Tino Livramento.
In order to complete the deals, reports suggest that City may offer four players — goalkeeper James Trafford, full-backs Rico Lewis and Issa Kaboré, and centre-back Jumah Bah — to the north-east club.
Tonali has also been linked with a potential switch to City’s rivals, Manchester United, but his next move may be impacted by whether the Red Devils secure Champions League football this term. The Italian is reportedly understood to have a gentleman’s agreement in place to leave if Newcastle fail to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Earlier this month, Tonali’s agent appeared to hint that his client favours a move to City or Arsenal over United during an interview with Calcio e Finanza.
When pressed on whether Tonali may sign for Manchester City or Arsenal, Giuseppe Riso explained: “Exactly, that was the goal from the moment he went to England — to try to make him a star player. I think he’s the Italian footballer with one of the highest values in the world.”
The 25-year-old is currently Newcastle’s fourth-highest earner on £150,000 per week, equal to £7.8 million per year, according to Capology.
