And the big hitters of the UK press are all linking a host of names with City - no change there, then - with many of the same names seemingly in the frame across a range of titles.
Where to start? How about The Guardian, who suggest that Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara is wanted for the Blues’ midfield.
“Pep Guardiola is targeting Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcântara as one of his major signings this summer when he becomes Manchester City head coach,” writes Jamie Jackson.
“Thiago was taken to Bayern from Barcelona by Guardiola for around £17m when the Spaniard moved from the Catalan club in 2013. The Spain international signed a new contract last summer that ties him to Bayern until 2019 so negotiations for the 24-year-old would start in the region of £25m.”
Richard Tanner in the Express neatly wraps up a few names in one go, stating that “City have already opened talks with Borussia Dortmund’s Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
“Also believed to be on their hit list is Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, Everton defender John Stones (above), Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and his team-mate, left-back David Alaba.”
Web football overlords Goal.com are even more unequivocal regarding Gundogan, while adding some more big names to conjure with.
“Goal sources understand a deal for Ilkay Gundogan, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, is close to being completed. His uncle and agent met with (City director of football Txiki) Begiristain at an Amsterdam hotel earlier in March and both Juventus and Barcelona have dropped out of the race.
“But City are also in the race for Juventus star Paul Pogba, who left United in 2012 after failing to break into the first team under Sir Alex Ferguson, while Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, who worked with Guardiola for one season at Bayern Munich, may also be of interest should he be made available this summer.”
And today’s general theme of connecting City to some top talent also features in the Telegraph, courtesy of Jason Burt, who says, “City have a number of potential summer transfer targets. They admire the Everton pair of John Stones and Ross Barkley, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
“The club also have high hopes for 20-year-old Belgian defender Jason Denayer (above), who is currently on loan at Turkish club Galatasaray.”
That’s your selection for today, but something tells me that the international break may see more of the same kind of speculation over the next few days…
