Manchester City battling Barcelona for star forward after £82M Julian Alvarez sale | OneFootball

Manchester City are in the race to sign Dinamo Zagreb forward Cardoso Varela, who has also attracted strong interest from Barcelona, as per a new report.

City overhauled their squad in the recent transfer window with seven first-team signings, including Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Sverre Nypan, James Trafford and Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The Blues also sold Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson, James McAtee and Kyle Walker and the pair of Kevin De Bruyne and Scott Carson left at the end of their respective contracts, with Hugo Viana marking his appointment as Manchester City’s director of football with a significant revamp of the dressing room.

Pep Guardiola’s men recorded a disappointed third-place Premier League finish last term, with City amassing their lowest league points tally (71) in nine seasons under the Catalan, exiting the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and losing the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

The summer additions of Reijnders and Cherki, the return of academy graduate Oscar Bobb from injury and the encouraging run of form Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku have shown in recent weeks have helped to fill the gaping creativity hole at the Etihad Stadium since De Bruyne’s notable departure.

However, City have relied heavily on star forward Erling Haaland to provide the goods in front of goal since Julian Alvarez’s £82 million sale to Atletico Madrid last summer. Despite City’s sub-par season last term, Haaland still managed to score 34 times in all competitions for the Blues.

Omar Marmoush was recruited from Eintracht Frankfurt in January to add depth to Manchester City’s attack but with the 26-year-old suffering a thigh injury in the September international break, City have relied on the likes of Foden and Doku to jointly play the role of architect-in-chief for Haaland.

After wins over Manchester United and Napoli in the space of five days, Manchester City can round off an incredible week with three wins out of three should they build on their momentum and secure a victory against title rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

As reported by Crotian outlet 24 Sata and relayed by Sport Witness, Manchester City are locked in a transfer battle with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain for Dinamo Zagreb and Portugal U17 forward Cardoso Varela.

The 16-year-old has established himself in Dinamo Zagreb’s first-team since his arrival in Croatia, with clubs across Europe monitoring the Angola-born attacker’s performances after his quick ascent to stardom.

City Football Group (CFG) scouts have recruited top-tier talent from across the globe for Manchester City over the years and officials at the Etihad Stadium are likely to keep a close eye on Varela’s development in Zagreb over the seasons to come.

Manchester City saw off widespread competition to secure the signings of Cherki and Nypan this summer and the development of talent over time to perform at the highest level of football has been a key hallmark of the City Football Academy (CFA) since the club’s Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008.