Manchester City have made a double breakthrough in the transfer market on Wednesday morning.
City have agreed an initial £46.3million fee to sign AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, although that fee could rise by around £12.5million depending on some performance related bonuses.
Reijnders will line up alongside Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in City’s midfield next season in what already looks like a formidable combination in Pep Guardiola’s engine room.
And that positive news was compounded by reports City have agreed personal terms with Lyon playmaker Rayan Cherki, with the club set to lodge an official bid for the 21-year-old.
Cherki has one year remaining on his deal at Lyon and has already informed the club he intends to leave this summer. He is said to be available for a cut-price fee and could be one of the steals of the summer given he scored 12 goals and registered 20 assists last season.
The France under-21 international scored in both legs of Lyon’s Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United and his performance in those games put him on the radar of a number of top European clubs.
City are also pushing for a £50million deal for Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and while there is confidence a deal can be done, it is not as advanced as moves for Reijnders and Cherki at this stage.
It represents an exciting start to the summer transfer window and backs up the claim of City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak that they were preparing to sign their primary targets prior to the start of the Club World Cup.
And that is where Reijnders and Cherki could make their debuts for City, with Guardiola’s side preparing to jet off to the United States next week.
City’s opening group game in Philadelphia is against Moroccan side Wydad AC on Wednesday, June 18, meaning fans could get a first glimpse of their new signings in action in just two weeks’ time.
Their second game against UAE side Al-Ain is in the early hours of Monday, June 23, in Atlanta, before their final group game against Italian giants Juventus in Orlando at 2am on Thursday, June 26.
