Manchester City to battle United for €28m-rated Serie A defender – Reports

Manchester City are preparing to go toe to toe with rivals Manchester United for the signature of Fiorentina centre back Nikola Milenkovic, according to report from Italy.

The highly-rated Serbian young defender has emerged as one of the most promising commanding centre-backs in the Italian top-flight, already racking up 119 appearances.

The Citizens have made the most of the riches available to them by investing in centre-half options, with Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias snapped up during the summer, The form of the latter coupled with the re-emergence of John Stones has resulted in a rapid improvement for the Citizens defensively this season.

Filling the void created by Vincent Kompany’s departure has proved difficult at Etihad Stadium, but a solid partnership is being established between Dias and Stones, conceding an average of just 0.6 goals per game en route to them surging to the Premier League summit.

According to a report from Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, as relayed by the Express, Manchester City despite their strong defensive record this season are set to fight it out with Manchester United for the signing of 23-year-old Fiorentina centre-back in the summer transfer window.

The €28m-rated defneder’s contract with the Serie A outfit expires in 2022, and the Italian news outlet report that a new contract is not likely to be drawn up. As a result, the Premier League is his number one destination.

It does come as a bit of a surprise that Pep Guardiola is eyeing another centre-back given the impressive form of John Stones and City’s all round strong defensive record this season. Whether City would be in the market for another centre half come the summer of 2021 remains to be seen.