Manchester City News Roundup: Real Madrid want to sign Laporte, forward reveals City nearly signed him, and more - 14th February 2021

Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points on Saturday and will look to win their game in hand to put some more daylight between themselves and their nearest rivals.

On that note, let’s take a look at the latest news featuring Manchester City from 14th February 2021:

Manchester City will wait until the summer to offer Stones a new contract

Manchester City will offer defender John Stones a new contract but only after the season, as per reports.

According to the Sunday Mirror (via The Boot Room), Manchester City have begun negotiations with Stones regarding a new deal, but an announcement will only be made next summer.

Stones has been a key member of the first-team squad this season with Manchester City beginning to run away with the league after a slow start.

The England international is in the final 18 months of his contract and is attracting interest from Premier League rivals Arsenal.

Real Madrid to test Manchester City with a bid for Laporte

Aymeric Laporte has gone from being a key player for Manchester City to a bench-warmer, so good has been Ruben Dias’ form this season.

The Portuguese has also formed a good partnership with John Stones, which has resulted in Laporte falling down the pecking order at Manchester City.

As per Daily Star, Real Madrid are looking to take advantage of the situation with Laporte and make a bid for the Frenchman in the summer.

The Whites will need to sign a replacement for Sergio Ramos, whose contract expires this summer, and Laporte could be the answer. He has already played with Raphael Varane for the French national team.

Manchester City nearly signed me, says Ali Akman

Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ali Akman has revealed that Manchester City wanted to sign him in January, but he made the decision to choose Germany for his development.

City wanted to strengthen their academy with Akman, who is doing well for Bursaspor in Turkey this season. However, he joined Frankfurt, and will move in the summer after spending the rest of the season on loan at Burspaspor.

The 18-year old has already scored ten times in 18 appearances for Bursaspor in the league this season, and is seen as a precocious talent.

The teenager was quoted as saying:

“Manchester City were very serious candidates [to sign me]. My mind went to Man City for a while, but it was not difficult to make a decision after thinking carefully. I thought [Frankfurt] would give me a better education in Germany.”