Paris Saint-Germain midfielder offered to City

Early on Wednesday morning a Manchester City club insider confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain 25-year-old midfielder Marco Verratti had been offered to Man City.

Clearly Verratti would fit the bill for Pep being a high quality addition to his young side, offering cover in both defensive midfield and central midfield.

Verratti would compete for the Fernandinho role and possibly offers a range of improved passing along with proven top flight experience.

Any such top player would command a considerable fee, likely to be in the £70 million plus bracket. If he is being offered to other clubs then it seems clear PSG are looking to rebalance their books.

Whilst it seems clear Verratti would be a welcome addition to the centurions, any transfer activity between PSG and Man City would be problematic.

The relationship between the two clubs and more specifically the two middle eastern regimes behind the clubs are frosty at best, and unlikely to become any warmer.

On top of that is the contentious transfer this summer of young player Claudio Gomez from PSG. Considered by many to be the hottest prospect in the PSG academy he was poached by City as he turned 18 and has played a key role already In the US tour drawing plaudits from Guardiola.

If poor relationships between the clubs wasn’t enough to make the transfer difficult there is a further barrier. Verratti’s agent is Mino Raiola, who Pep and City have both had some difficulty with in the past.

So while Verratti presents as the kind of top level acquisition City are looking for, the possibility of concluding a transfer may be difficult.

Indeed, the presence of Raiola may even make the destination to be more likely to be the red side of Manchester.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if Mourinho added yet another shielding midfielder to his pragmatic, defensive team.