Conflicting reports over claims of rejected £60 million deadline day bid from Manchester City for Premier League star

Manchester City reportedly had a £60 million bid rejected for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze rejected on transfer deadline day.

Information concerning a late move for the former Queens Park Rangers man emerged after Manchester City engaged in a late pursuit of a midfield signing during the final few weeks of the summer transfer window.

Etihad bosses had identified West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta as their initial number one choice for the midfield position, although negotiations collapsed during the final phase of negotiations due to the emergence of an FA investigation into the Brazilian midfielder.

As alternatives to the former Olympique Lyonnais star, Manchester City looked elsewhere in the Premier League, identifying Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Nunes and Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace as possible candidates.

While City finalised an agreement with the Molineux club over a €62 million fee for the Portugal international, it has now been suggested in conflicting reports that the Premier League champions also moved for their other candidate but on deadline day itself.

That is according to the information of The Mirror, who boldly claim that Manchester City failed in an ’11th hour’ £60 million bid for Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze.

The report claims that talks concerning Manchester City and a move for the 25-year-old were at ‘an advanced stage’, while it is believed that the player himself would have ‘loved the opportunity of linking up’ with Pep Guardiola.

However, much to the frustration of transfer bosses at the Etihad Stadium, the report states that Crystal Palace refused to move from their £80 million asking price, while Eze is now expected to commit to a new and improved contractual agreement at Selhurst Park.

In a contrasting report from the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, the suggestion from his information is that Manchester City did not send any form of official proposal for Eberechi Eze on transfer deadline day.

Romano explains that Manchester City considered Eze as they ‘appreciate’ the player, but only before signing Matheus Nunes earlier in the week from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Nunes featured in Manchester City’s matchday squad against Fulham on Saturday afternoon just over 24 hours after being formally announced by last season’s treble winners as their fourth and final acquisition of the summer market.

Nunes joined the Etihad Stadium project and Pep Guardiola’s star-studded squad in a summer that also saw Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, and Jeremy Doku agree to moves from Chelsea, RB Leipzig, and Stade Rennais respectively.

Manchester City continue to hold interest in a number of breakthrough and emerging talents in world football, particularly Boca Juniors’ Valentin Barco – with the expectation being that dialogue will be maintained even while the market is closed in England.