What’s the story?
According to The Express, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are plotting a world record bid for Tottenham’s young starlet Dele Alli. The English paper says that Guardiola is planning a huge summer clear-out and wants to sign the young Spurs winger as he tries to reinvigorate an ageing squad at the Etihad.
According to the reports, the Manchester City owners have sanctioned the move for the England international, who they feel could contribute to the club’s success for years to come.
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The 20-year-old Alli has been in good form for the Londoners this season, scoring 13 goals for his club in all competitions (11 of which have come in the Premier League). The Spurs midfielder was recently awarded the Premier League Player of the Month award for January after scoring five goals for his club.
The heart of the matter
Alli has attracted interest from a host of European clubs and now Manchester City are also believed to be in the race to sign the youngster. Spurs rate the English star highly and are determined to fight to keep him at the club despite the rumoured interest.
It is believed that Guardiola and City are keen on signing the player even if the bidding crosses the £89million mark that their cross-town rivals Manchester United shelled out for Frenchman Paul Pogba last summer.
What’s next?
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in signing the youngster, who they think is one of the most exciting prospects in world football at the moment. City will face tough competition for the player with these two European heavyweights also rumoured to be considering bids for him.
It is believed that the bids for the former MK Dons star could cross the world record transfer fee for Paul Pogba and if that happens, Tottenham would certainly find it difficult to hold on to their prized asset.
Sportskeeda’s take
Dele Alli signed a new contract as recently as September 2016 which will keep him at Tottenham for the next six years. In turn, this along with his age and future potential could considerably inflate his price tag if the mentioned clubs are planning to buy him. It will be difficult for Spurs to hold on to the English winger if Real Madrid actually do come along with a bid.
With City and Guardiola’s project, the Catalan-born manager does have some exciting young talent already at his disposal and reportedly wants to add the Spurs’ star to that list. However, Daniel Levy is a hard man to bargain with and he would surely prefer to move the youngster abroad rather than a Premier League rival. The bidding could skyrocket in the summer given the above-mentioned factors.
