Man City identify surprising top midfield transfer target | OneFootball

Manchester City are reported to have set their sights on Galatasaray midfielder Gabriel Sara as one of their top summer transfer targets.

City will continue their squad rebuild this summer and are expected to focus their efforts on midfield. Kevin De Bruyne will leave the club on a free transfer after the club declined to offer him an extension and there is significant speculation revolving around Portugal international Bernardo Silva.

Manager Pep Guardiola has also refused to guarantee a future at the club to Ilkay Gundogan after a one-year extension in his current contract was triggered automatically.

With significant changes on the horizon for City, Foot Mercato state Pep Guardiola's side are very interested in 25-year-old Sara.

City are said to have made contact with Sara's representatives and have earmarked the Brazilian as one of their top targets for the upcoming transfer window. UOL insist there has been nothing more than an enquiry at this stage.

English fans may remember Sara's time with Norwich / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages

Sara does have experience in English football. He joined Norwich City in the summer of 2022 and went on to make 96 appearances for the club, racking up 21 goals and 17 assists, before a move to Galatasaray last summer which was reported to be worth somewhere between £15m and £20m.

He has undoubtedly caught the eye in his debut season in Turkiye. Two goals and seven assists have helped keep Galatasaray at the top of the Super Lig standings and appears to have caught the eye of Guardiola and City.

A versatile midfielder who does his best work in a box-to-box capacity, Sara would bring the energy which Guardiola has openly admitted his ageing side have lacked this season.

Whether City will advance their interest in Sara is unclear. There is no mention of a potential transfer fee but the Brazilian would undoubtedly come far cheaper than a number of other targets who have been linked with moves to the Etihad.

Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is a dream target but is likely to cost around €150m (£127.7m), while Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White and Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Larsson could both command significant fees.