That’s one of the stories gathering momentum in this morning’s press round-up in which Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling, Jack Harrison and Kaka all feature.
Let’s begin with our lead story, carried in a number of newspapers and websites, concerning Pellegrini.
Sky Sports report: “Manchester City are interested in signing Roma’s 21-year-old midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, according to Sky in Italy.
“City officials are understood to have watched him play against Verona on September 16, after he returned to Roma in the summer following two seasons at Sassuolo.
“Pellegrini began his career at Roma before being sold in 2015 for around £1m to Sassuolo, for whom he scored nine Serie A goals in nearly 50 appearances. The deal included a buy-back clause.”
Meanwhile, an alleged target from across the Atlantic is rumoured to be interesting both Manchester clubs as the Mirror report: “Manchester United are reportedly set to lose out to rivals City in the battle for New York City youngster Jack Harrison.
“The 20-year-old has been impressing in MLS this season and was handed his first call-up to the England Under-21 side this week.
“Both the Manchester clubs had been monitoring his progress, but City’s relationship with New York City mean that they will have first refusal on him.
“Harrison was at the Red Devils’ academy until he was 14, but left when he did not see a long-term future at the club.”
In 2009, City almost pulled off the biggest transfer in history, shortly after Sheikh Mansour’s takeover.
Kaka was regarded as highly as anyone on the planet eight years ago, and the Blues audaciously bid £100m for the Brazilian superstar – only for nagging doubts to convince the player to stay in Italy.
In FourFourTwo, Kaka says: ‘Negotiations went very far indeed. The only thing separating City and I was my final word.
‘It came to the point where all of the numbers and the finer details had been discussed. The wages I had been offered were much, much higher than what I was earning with Milan.
‘I found myself wondering what my life playing in England would be like, what my routine at this new club would be, how difficult it would be for my kids and my wife to move home. All of these thoughts were swirling inside my head.
“I came to the conclusion that it was not quite the right time for me to go to City, and the main reason was the uncertainty over the squad-building process.
“It wasn’t clear to me how the squad would be reshaped and I wasn’t convinced it would work.
‘I was being asked to swap one of the most historic and successful clubs in Europe for a team who were only at the beginning of a new project, where I was supposed to be the first big player. It was safer to stay at Milan.’
Your loss, Kaka!
Meanwhile, Fernandinho was asked a question that he answered honestly and immediately gave journalists their ‘hook’.
Quoted on Goal, he said: ‘Could we sign Messi or Ronaldo? I guess so, but then you have to consider the club’s priorities first. We have the financial power, everyone knows that, but there’s the priority issue that must be considered.
‘Are we aiming to sign one player or to assemble a strong, competitive team to achieve our goals? Sometimes people mistake some things regarding that, thinking just one player would make up for the needs of an entire club. Maybe it’s not supposed to be like that.
‘City have been working throughout the years to mount competitive teams and pursue titles. Of course, the club made some big and strong investments in the beginning, with top-level and well-known players, but the project itself is based on having a strong team, on developing a top academy structure to reveal new players.’
Finally, Raheem Sterling looks set for a new role in the England side this evening, buoyed by his excellent form with City.
The Guardian take up the slack: “Sterling will return to England’s starting line-up for the qualifier against Slovenia on Thursday, operating in the No 10 position, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain retaining his place on the right flank.
“Sterling endured a difficult time with the national team last month and suffered the ignominy of being substituted at half-time in Malta with the game goalless and frustration mounting among the travelling support. Sterling played only the last seven minutes of the subsequent win over Slovakia but though it is almost two years since he scored for his country, he will earn his 35th cap at Wembley at the age of only 22.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said: ‘We have some very exciting talent who want to go and express themselves, and we want to give them the framework to do that.
‘Raheem comes into that bracket. He is a tough lad. That’s one of the attributes I really like about him. He bounces back from disappointments and he goes again. I can see he is ready for tomorrow and looking forward to it. He is in a good moment with his club, he is working with a good coach there and we have huge belief in him as well.’
We’ll bring you updates on Sterling and our other international stars later this evening..
