From Italy: Hugo Viana and Manchester City table €50M bid for midfield target | OneFootball

Manchester City are offering €50 million to Atalanta to bring Ederson Silva to the Etihad Stadium this summer, as per a new report.

The 2023 treble winners face a major squad revamp after failing to retain the Premier League title, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid at the Round of 16 phase and losing to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.

Several departures are on the way after Kevin De Bruyne was the first to be told by club bosses in April he was not part of their plans next season, with the 33-year-old Belgium international now expected to complete a move to Napoli.

Guardiola is keen to keep hold of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva into the new campaign – the former has activated an automatic extension clause in his contract and the latter could choose to leave should a suitor club cough up Manchester City’s asking price.

The midfield is one area of the squad that is expected to undergo significant upheaval between now and the onset of the 2025-26 campaign, with Manchester City looking to bolster Guardiola’s options in the middle of the park after a disappointing year on the pitch.

Florian Wirtz was long eyed as the ideal replacement for the outgoing De Bruyne but with the German favouring a move to newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool, the Blues have identified alternatives and are making progress to close those deals.

Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders and Lyon’s Rayan Cherki have all attracted interest from the Etihad Stadium as Viana and co aim to bring in each of Manchester City’s new signings before the FIFA Club World Cup begins in June.

Viana is spearheading City’s pursuit of Gibbs-White amidst negotiations with AC Milan for Reijnders after an opening bid for the Netherlands international was rejected by the Italian club. City are also understood to have received a green light from Cherki to reach an agreement with Lyon.

As reported by Corriere dello Sport and relayed by Sport Witness, Atalanta’s Ederson Silva tops Guardiola’s midfield wishlist for the summer transfer window and Viana has been tasked with bringing the 25-year-old to the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City are reportedly offering upto €50 million for the Brazilian, who has two years remaining on his current deal at Atalanta, who could be tempted to cash in on Silva this summer if the right offer makes it way to the negotiating table.

Moreover, Atalanta have identified Celtic’s Arne Engels as a potent replacement for Ederson should the Brazilian leave the Serie A outfit this summer, which could see them more resigned to the prospect of working with Manchester City to make a deal happen.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has set out a target for the club to acquire all new signings for the 2025-26 campaign in time for the FIFA Club World Cup, which means the next few weeks are likely to witness a flurry of new additions to Guardiola’s ranks before City fly to the United States.