Pep Guardiola could take his summer spending past £100m in the coming days as the Manchester City manager closes in on Leroy Sané and the young South American forwards Gabriel Jesus and Marlos Moreno.
Guardiola has already bought Ilkay Gündogan for £21m, Nolito for £13.8m and Oleksandr Zinchenko for £1.7m, putting the total at £36.5m. Schalke want €50m (£41.8m) for the Germany attacking midfielder Sané, with City valuing the 20-year-old at around £5m less. City’s sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, is confident of the deal going through. If the clubs split the difference Sané would cost £39.3m, taking Guardiola’s outlay to £75.8m.
Jesus, a 19-year-old Palmeiras striker, is valued at around £26m by the Brazilian club. They rejected a €20m bid (£16.7m) from Juventus, which is closer to the fee City believe he is worth. A deal is understood to be close for Jesus – the two clubs being in different time zones, with City in China, is making it tricky to finalise – but if a compromise is found at around halfway and he is bought for around £20m that would be an outlay of £95.8m.
Atlético Nacional’s Moreno, a 19-year-old Colombian forward, has agreed to move to City for a fee in the region of £8m. This would break the £100m barrier – to £103.8m.
Regarding John Stones, City and Everton are understood still to be discussing his potential transfer to the Etihad Stadium. Although the deal may be some way off, if he is bought the central defender could take City’s investment in the current window beyond £150m.
City’s tour of China continues with a friendly against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday.