Man City hope to complete transfer for defender this week as Barcelona ‘in talks’

Manchester City could wrap up the signing of Josko Gvardiol before the end of the week, according to reports.

The RB Leipzig defender has been identified as Pep Guardiola’s priority addition in the summer market and City have remained confident all summer that a deal could be completed. Transfer negotiations appear to have advanced this week, and the move could even be completed before Sunday’s Community Shield.

The Daily Mail claim talks have been positive between the clubs this week, with Leipzig demanding a fee of around £86m for the Croatian international.

Those claims have been repeated by Fabrizio Romano, with the transfer guru also revealing City are keen on signing Jeremy Doku as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez. The 21-year-old Rennes attacker has been linked with a move to Aston Villa this summer, but is on City’s list, according to Romano, alongside Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise.

While City continue to push for incomings to strengthen their squad, several players could still depart this summer. Joao Cancelo is a player Guardiola is willing to move on, and talkSPORT claim Barcelona are 'in talks' with City about signing the full-back.

The outlet add City would prefer a permanent departure for Cancelo, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich. Meanwhile Barcelona manager Xavi admitted on Tuesday night that the club are in the market for a ‘pure full-back’.

Elsewhere, youngster Carlos Borges is expected to join Ajax for a fee of €20m (£17.2m). The Athletic report City have included a buy-back option and a 20 percent sell-on clause for the 19-year-old, who had looked poised to join West Ham United last week.

Meanwhile, City return to competitive action this weekend when they take on Arsenal in the Community Shield. Guardiola is expected to have a fully fit squad for the encounter, but the Catalan will give a further update during Friday’s pre-match press conference.