Manchester City identify Jude Bellingham alternative ahead of summer window

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have identified their alternative to Jude Bellingham ahead of the summer window, according to a new report.

City officials are expected to enter the market for a new central midfielder this summer, as they continue to work on resolving the futures of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva during the ongoing campaign.

The Premier League champions’ captain is approaching the expiry of his Etihad contract, and could yet opt for a move back to Germany for the twilight years of his career, or take on one final big contract at the likes of FC Barcelona – who are known to be interested.

As for Bernardo Silva, the Portugal international is expected to once again seek a move away from Manchester this summer, and providing City receive offers close to the valuation they set out, then they are unlikely to stand in his way.

That brings us to who Etihad officials could look to bring in, and while their priority target in the position is known to be Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, work has already taken place on identifying a potential back-up option.

An update concerning Bellingham has been provided courtesy of the information of Matteo Moretto, who states that City are one of the teams in contention to sign the player, with Pep Guardiola an admirer of his qualities, and Erling Haaland pushing for his friend to select the Etihad Stadium as his next home.

However, the race for the England international star is described as being ‘wide open’, with Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea all set to make their first moves for a player that is reportedly valued at €150 million.

While there is a possibility that Manchester City could come out on top in the pursuit of Europe’s most sought-after midfielder, Matteo Moretto reports that officials at the club have identified an alternative option in the event of a failed pursuit.

That player is West Ham and England’s Declan Rice – a player that Pep Guardiola is currently said to be ‘closely following’, and a talent that could come at a reduced cost should the Hammers fail to secure their place in the Premier League next season.

Rice is known to be close to a number of Manchester City players largely thanks to their time spent together when away with the England national team, while the West Ham man also regards club legend Yaya Toure as one of his idols.

Speaking during a recent feature with Goal, Rice exclaimed upon seeing Toure appear in his home, “What?! One of the idols! That is someone I’ve based the game on massively! I don’t get starstruck very often, this is a legend. I can’t believe I’ve got Yaya Toure in my house!”

Early last summer, Manchester City were however forced to deny any concrete interest in Declan Rice through a press briefing, such was the noise around the Etihad club being interested in the player alongside the likes of Frenkie De Jong and Paul Pogba.