Manchester City have reportedly identified Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme as a potential transfer target.
The Premier League champions are currently in the process of making changes to their first-team squad, with Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic the first fresh face to arrive at the Etihad Stadium.
RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol is likely to be the next player to follow, providing that City can agree a fee - potentially a world record for a defender - with the German outfit.
Acquiring those two Croatia internationals would fill gaps in central defence and central midfield, but Pep Guardiola still has his eyes on freshening up his options in the final third.
That is in the event that one of the likes of Bernardo Silva or Riyad Mahrez - who are both said to have offers from elsewhere - decide to take on a new challenge.
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According to reports in Spain, City are giving consideration to trying to agree a deal with Riquelme before the end of the summer.
Journalist Angel Garcia says that the European champions have presented a €15m (£12.9m) to Atletico in a bid to tempt them into a sale.
Despite now being 23 years of age, Riquelme has spent much of his career away from his parent club, instead making just two senior appearances for Atletico.
His most recent loan stint came at Girona, a sister club to Man City, where he contributed four goals and four assists from 34 outings in La Liga.
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Preceding that, the Spain Under-21 international starred in the second tier with Mirandes and enjoyed a mixed learning spell with Bournemouth in the Championship.
During his stint in England, which came in 2020-21, Riquelme made just two starts and 14 substitute outings in the league, yet it has led to him advancing his career in his homeland.
Nevertheless, a report in Relevo says that Atletico have indicated to their City counterparts that they would need to pay Riquelme's €60m (£51.5m) release clause.
Riquelme, who could theoretically remain in Atletico's first-team squad for 2023-24, still has five years left on his contract.
Darren Plant
