It’s a common trend in football nowadays: new coach comes, new coach wants new players, new coach gets linked with a raid of his former club.
This was the case with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool takeover, though they were merely rumors, as it is now with Pep Guardiola’s imminent Manchster City arrival.
As written by The Sun back in early February, several players face the chopping block, with Joe Hart – alongside fellow team-mates Yaya Toure, Bacary Sagna, Wilfried Bony, and Fernando – tipped to be shipped out.
Although the British tabloid reported that Guardiola was eyeing Barca shot-stopper Claudio Bravo to succeed the Englishman in between the sticks, another British news outlet claim that the Bayern Munich boss will look to raid the German giants for a new goalkeeper.
According to the Mirror, Pep will attempt to lure German hot-shot goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the Etihad, with the 29-year-old having spent five – and counting – trophy-ladden seasons at the Allianz Arena.
Neuer currently has three more years remaining on his Bayern Munich deal, and is after a pay raise which would see the World Cup winner earn a whopping £300,000 per week.
The Citizens possess the financial strength to match the German international’s salary demands; however, the uphill battle in signing Neuer will not be money, but convincing his current employers to sell the sweeper-keeper.
The move may be a long shot, but this news underlines that the end of Joe Hart’s Man City career is near, with the Mirror claiming that Guardiola will look elsewhere if they fail to sign Neuer, given that the Three Lions ace fails to convince the incoming manager.
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