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Manchester City are reported to be close to agreeing a deal for Atlético Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez.
That is according to The Daily Mail who report that Niguez has been identified as the long-term replacement for Fernandinho, who is now 33 years old.
City’s original choice was Ajax star Frenkie de Jong, but the Dutch international chose Barcelona instead, forcing Pep Guardiola’s men to look elsewhere before finally alighting on the 24-year old Spaniard.
Niguez has been at Atlético since he was 17, and has gone on to make 240 career appearances for them, scoring 33 goals. However, he is now keen to move on, and City appear to be his likely destination, although Barcelona have a first option clause on him.
He has played for Spain at every age group, and, since making his international debut in 2016 in a friendly win against Belgium, and gone on to earn 15 senior caps.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.