Man City boss Pep Guardiola has reportedly entered the race to sign Torino striker Andrea Belotti this summer, but it won’t be cheap.
The 23-year-old is quickly establishing himself as one of the most prolific strikers in Europe, as a quick-fire hat-trick against Palermo at the weekend took his tally up to 22 goals in 24 Serie A outings so far this season.
Torino are fully aware of the talent that they have at their disposal, and while they will naturally hope to keep hold of him for as long as possible, they will know that interest is building.
As reported by The Mirror, Belotti signed a new contract in January which included an £86m buy-out clause for non-Serie A clubs, with Arsenal and Chelsea explicitly named in the report as interested parties.
Granata president Urbano Cairo insisted this week that he believes the Italian international is now worth more, even up to €150m, but he believes that the clause and his value will stay around €100m as he hopes no offers come in.
While Torino will do their best to try and put off clubs from making an approach for Belotti, it may become impossible to ignore interest for long.
Question marks will always be raised about Arsenal’s desire to spend so big on one player, but with Chelsea and Man City, they arguably have the resources to make a transfer like this one happen.
Much has to happen to convince them that it’s worth it of course, but it’s a worrying time for Torino if this report of City entering the race is true as they will be capable of making a mega offer, while the appeal of playing for Pep Guardiola could be too good to turn down.
Conversely, Antonio Conte looks set to lead Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first season in charge, and perhaps Belotti would favour a move to join his compatriot at Stamford Bridge this summer if he decides to leave Turin.