Man City set to launch €40 million bid for Manchester United target

Manchester City is reportedly looking to hijack Manchester United’s midfield target in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The rivalry between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola is the one currently brewing inside in the Premier League, with Manchester United getting the better of their rivals in recent games between the two.

Solskjaer outwitted the Spanish manager twice in the Premier League last season. However, Guardiola’s team came out as the victors while facing United in the home leg of EFL Cup semi-final last season. The Cityzens went on to win the trophy after beating the Red Devils narrowly on aggregate.

Manchester United could again be beaten by the Cityzens, but this time in an off-field contest, as per recent reports.

According to a report from the German outlet named BILD (via Fussballtransfers), Manchester City are considering lodging a bid of €40 million for Red Devils target Denis Zakaria.

The 23-year-old Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder has been on the radar of Manchester United for several months now. Though, they are not the only admirers of the midfield maestro, with teams from La Liga and Serie A also keeping tabs on his situation at the Bundesliga club.

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Zakaria’s current contract with the Borussia Monchengladbach is set to end in June 2022, with reports insisting that he is adamant on trying a new challenge in his career and hence won’t extend his stay further at his current side.

The Red Devils have an abundance of quality offensive and central midfielders in the roster at the moment. But, there is a growing need of adding some defensive bodies to the rank, with Matic’s loss of mobility at the age of 32 becoming an obvious issue at the heart of the defensive midfield region. To thrive further in the European contest, the club need to have decent squad depth in the position as well. And Zakaria’s signing could well do the job for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

As things stand, Mönchengladbach will be looking to sell Zakaria at the highest possible price in the next summer transfer window. Should they fail to shift the prodigy then, Zakaria would be able to sign a pre-contract with his future team in January 2022.