Manchester City closing in on £58.7 million signing as defensive recruitment continues – Player misses training

Premier League champions Manchester City are set to continue their spending on defensive areas of the pitch this month as they close in on another big-money deal.

Txiki Begiristain and his recruitment colleagues are now poised to take their January spending over the £200 million mark after securing the signings of players for the first-team, Academy system, and the wider City Football Group.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis were brought in from RC Lens and Palmeiras respectively for a combined spend in the region of €70 million, while Omar Marmoush’s switch to bolster the attacking unit came in at an outlay of around €75 million alone.

The business continued as Manchester City ensured that they secured the services of Juma Bah – one of the most highly-rated defensive talents in European football at present – sending the teenager out on loan to RC Lens until the end of the season.

And Christian McFarlane also became the first New York City FC player to rise through the Major League Soccer club’s Academy system and join a Premier League club, as he made the switch to the Etihad Stadium this week.

But the big-money deals look set to continue with just a matter of days left remaining in the ongoing January market, as Manchester City close in on an agreement for one of Italian football’s very best operators in defence.

That is according to the information of The Mirror’s Simon Mullock, who reports that Manchester City are closing in on a £58.7 million deal for Juventus full-back, Andrea Cambiaso – who has been ruled out of the club’s final Champions League league phase encounter.

It is claimed that City have already had a £54.5 million offer rejected for the 24-year-old as part of their search to replace Kyle Walker, with Juventus said to be demanding £75.5 million, although it is believed that a compromise will be reached this week.

Cambiaso was ruled out of Juventus training on Tuesday as the club’s head coach revealed that an ankle injury has been problematic for the defender, who trained alone in the gym ahead of the club’s Champions League match on Wednesday night.

Motta told reporters on Tuesday, “(Andrea) Cambiaso won’t be there. You know he’s had this situation with his ankle, but he was trying to help the team. He has said that he prefers to take his time to get back to 100 per cent.”

Cambiaso has been an outspoken admirer of some of Manchester City’s defensive and offensive talents both past and present in recent months, revealing that while he grew up looking up to the likes of Joao Cancelo, he ‘adores’ Rico Lewis among others.

The Italian international also stated that he would be ‘put in hospital’ by the likes of Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku and Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola – who scored against the Premier League champions last week.

Since the emergence of reports linking City with a move for Cambiaso earlier this month, the club moved swiftly to brief some corners of the media that while their interest in the defender is genuine, a deal may have to wait until the summer.