Premier League champions are willing to do business with Atletico, but only if they significantly improve their opening offer.
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Manchester City are prepared to sell Alvaro Negredo for a transfer fee of £25m this summer, according to The Sun.
The 28-year-old Spaniard is wanted by La La champions Atletico Madrid, who view him as an ideal replacement for Diego Costa.
Atletico sold Costa, who scored 36 club goals last season, to Chelsea for £32m earlier this week, but their opening bid for Negredo was just £15m.
City paid an initial fee of £16.4m for Negredo last summer and the Madrid-born man scored 23 goals in his first campaign for the Citizens.
All of his goals came before the end of January though and, after failing to score in the final three and a half months of the campaign, he was omitted from Spain’s 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini is said to be keen to keep Negredo at the Etihad Stadium, but he knows that the player has had his head turned by the suggestion of a possible return to his home country.
Negredo has three years left to run on his current contract with City.
He has represented Spain 21 times at senior international level, scoring 10 goals.
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