Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso has seemingly emerged as a top target for Manchester City, but they may have to wait until the summer to secure his services.
The Citizens are by far the Premier League's biggest spenders in the January transfer window so far, and have remarkably spent more than all 20 English top-flight clubs combined last winter, splashing out around £123m on new recruits.
Defensive pair Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis were Pep Guardiola's first two new additions last week, before attacker Omar Marmoush was unveiled as Man City's third signing just two days before he and Khusanov made their full debuts in last Saturday's 3-1 Premier League win over Chelsea.
Man City have since recruited 18-year-old defenders Juma Bah and Christian McFarlane from Real Valladolid and New York City FC respectively, with the former having already been sent out on loan to Lens for the rest of the season.
Indeed, Man City have targeted a number of younger players this month in a bid to address the age profile of a squad that has become the fourth oldest in the Premier League, and one of those now on their radar is 24-year-old Cambiaso.
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Will Man City sign Cambiaso in January?
The Citizens are understood to have identified Cambiaso as a long-term replacement for 34-year-old Kyle Walker, who has joined AC Milan on loan until the end of the season.
Contrary to some Italian media reports, The Mirror claims that Man City have submitted a €65m (£54.5m) offer for Cambiaso, but it was rejected by Juventus who are demanding €90m (£75.5m).
The report adds that although Man City have enquired about the availability of Cambiaso this month, the Citizens are unlikely to lure the Italy international to the Etihad Stadium before the winter window closes on February 3.
Man City are therefore more likely to renew their interest in Cambiaso next summer when the full-back's valuation may have dropped.
Although Juventus would ideally like to keep hold of Cambiaso, they are said to have already begun their search for a replacement, with Feyenoord's David Hancko identified as their number one target.
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Will Cambiaso swap Juve for Man City next summer?
On Tuesday, Juventus head coach Thiago Motta revealed that Cambiaso informed the club that he is still nursing an ankle injury that forced him to miss last weekend's 2-1 Serie A defeat at Napoli, and he will sit out of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Benfica.
"Cambiaso won't be there," Motta told reporters. "You know he's had this situation with his ankle, but he was trying to help the team. He has said that he prefers to take his time to get back to 100%."
A product of Genoa's youth academy, Cambiaso has made a total of 67 appearances for Juventus since joining the club in 2022, including 21 Serie A outings so far this season.
The 13-cap Italy international, who has chipped in with two goals and two assists while playing as either a left-back or advanced right-back, is under contract with the Turin giants until June 2029.
Cambiaso is not the only Juventus player on Man City's radar, as they are also believed to be contemplating a loan move for midfielder Douglas Luiz.
Oliver Thomas
