Pep Guardiola on verge of Man City transfer setback, target could have whopping €400m release clause

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According to recent reports, Barcelona star Sergi Roberto has been on Man City boss Pep Guardiola’s transfer radar, but he might not be for much longer.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a more prominent role this season after Ernesto Valverde’s arrival in the summer, and so there would seemingly be no real reason to leave the Nou Camp anyway.

However, as reported by The Sun last month, Manchester City were linked with meeting his £35m release clause as Guardiola considered options to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.

It doesn’t seem as though the Spanish tactician needs too much given his side are currently enjoying an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table while they’ve sealed their place in the knockout stage of the Champions League already.

All while playing some fantastic football, scoring 38 goals in 11 league games.

Nevertheless, they’ll need quality and depth to continue to compete on various fronts and that is seemingly where Sergi Roberto came into play.

Barcelona could include €400m release clause for Sergi Roberto

However, it doesn’t seem as though he’ll be a realistic target for much longer as Mundo Deportivo report Barcelona are offering him a new contract which will extend his stay at the club to 2022, but importantly his existing €40m release clause will increase tenfold to a staggering €400m.

There are still issues cited by the report though, namely that terms haven’t been agreed on the new deal yet and while the versatility of Sergi Roberto has proven useful to Barca, it surely isn’t what he wants as he would much prefer to have an established role in the side rather than be a utility man if he were to stay.

While the release clause will merely act as a safeguard and shouldn’t be too much of a concern, the biggest blow to Guardiola’s hopes of signing him will surely come if he decides to sign a new contract to show his commitment to Barcelona.

Guardiola could certainly do with his versatility and quality in Manchester as he will want to cover himself in case of injuries, but based on the tone of this report, the former Barca boss might have to start looking elsewhere instead of at his old club.

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