Manchester City see €60 million opening bid rejected for primary summer transfer target | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City have seen their opening bid made to AC Milan for Tijjani Reijnders rejected, it has been widely reported.

The 26-year-old central midfielder is widely believed to be Manchester City’s primary target for the ‘No.8’ position in the middle of the park, as part of a wide-ranging refresh of their playing squad before the new season.

With work also expected to be done in defence and further forward in the central roles, there is an ambition within the club to complete large elements of their business before this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

Speaking during a new interview with the club’s official website, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said of summer recruitment plans, “We’ve clearly identified who exactly are the targets, in what positions, and we have our clear number one, our clear number two option.

“We’ll go about our business, it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup,” he added.

And it appears as though that direction is continuing with an opening proposal made for one of their primary targets in the last 24 hours, as plans step up to get Manchester City back competing at the very highest level of the European game.

That is according to the information of market insider Fabrizio Romano, who reveals that Manchester City’s opening bid for midfielder Tijjani Reijnders was received by AC Milan in recent hours with the proposal worth around €60 million including add-ons.

It is stressed that the Italian giants certainly want more to let the midfielder leave for the Etihad Stadium this summer, and despite the opening proposal being rejected, negotiations are said to be advancing.

Additional reporting from Calciomercato’s Daniele Longo revealed that City’s opening bid was made up of a €55 million transfer fee, plus a further €5 million in potential add-ons.

There remains a high degree of confidence within Manchester City that a deal will be completed in the coming weeks, having received a clear indication from the player’s side that he himself would like the deal to happen.

For now, it remains to be seen just how much further Milan will push negotiations towards their desired valuation – which is believed to be standing at around €70 million, inclusive of add-ons.

In the meantime, City officials will no doubt be maintaining pursuits of other targets elsewhere in the market, with interest in the likes of Lyon’s Rayan Cherki and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White as possible Kevin De Bruyne replacements.