Manchester City turn full attentions to Premier League star following Jude Bellingham development

Premier League champions Manchester City have refocussed their transfer attentions to an alternative target within the English top-flight, according to a report.

City officials had made Jude Bellingham their number one target for the forthcoming summer transfer window, as the Etihad club brace themselves for a potential overhaul in the middle of the pitch.

Ilkay Gundogan looks increasingly likely to depart the club following the expiry of his current contract at the end of the season, while there is continued uncertainty as to whether Bernardo Silva will once again seek a way out of Manchester this summer.

Depending on departures, there remains every possibility that Manchester City could look to recruit two new faces in midfield, and the latest development suggests that their focus has now changed.

According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Manchester City are now ready to turn their full attention to signing Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic this summer, following a disappointing development concerning Jude Bellingham.

The England international midfielder appears increasingly likely to complete a switch to Real Madrid in the coming weeks and months, with Los Blancos entering into negotiations with Borussia Dortmund over a transfer fee.

Personal terms between the Spanish giants and Jude Bellingham, along with the player’s representatives, were seemingly not hard to come by given the player’s strong desire to represent the club in his career.

However, City may not be too hard hit by the possibility of losing the race for Bellingham given the fact that manager Pep Guardiola is understood to be a ‘huge fan’ of the Croatia international and his abilities in the centre of the park.

Kovacic will be entering into the final year of his Stamford Bridge contract next season, perhaps handing potential suitors the opportunity to sign the 29 year-old for a somewhat cut-price transfer fee given Chelsea’s need to sell for the purpose of financial fairplay.