Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure could be the most high-profile victim of a clear-out at the Etihad Stadium this summer, with the champions almost certain to end a bitterly-disappointing campaign without a piece of silverware to their name.
READ MORE:
Inter Milan to offer Yaya Toure five year contract in bid to lure Man City man to the San Siro
Man City prepared to sell £20m Inter Milan target Yaya Toure
Like most of his team-mates, the 31-year-old has failed to replicate the form he produced in 2013-14, when the Blues reclaimed the Premier League title and lifted the League Cup. Inter Milan head coach Roberto Mancini, who managed the Ivorian during a trophy-laden tenure in Manchester, has made no secret of his desire to work with the ageing star again.
Whether the Serie A outfit can afford his eye-watering wages and meet his club’s valuation remains to be seen. If a switch to the San Siro fails to materialise, here are five alternative destinations:
Bayern Munich
Toure shared a very public embrace with Bayern boss Pep Guardiola just seconds after City’s 1-0 Champions League defeat at the Allianz Arena last September and would relish the prospect of working with the Spaniard again. He was part of Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona midfield which ruled European football towards the end of the last decade.
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG are one of the few clubs around which would not be fazed by the idea of paying around £250,000 per week wages to a player on the wrong side of 30. While Ligue 1 might not float his boat as much as Serie A – he has already been there and done it with Monaco – PSG are an emerging force in the Champions League, in stark contrast to his current employer.
Juventus
The Serie A champions would love nothing more than snatching a prime transfer target away from under the noses of rivals Inter. Juve are bracing themselves for another summer battle to keep hold of engine room stars Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal, and with City thought to be keen to lure Pogba to the Etihad, a player-plus-cash deal involving the Frenchman and Toure could be on the cards.
Real Madrid
Hardly a summer goes by without a big-name arrival at the Bernabeu and there is an appetite among supporters for a shake-up after a stormy couple of months which has seen the home faithful turn on Wales forward Gareth Bale and manager Carlo Ancelotti. Money is no object and Toure may be tempted by a return to La Liga.
Chelsea
Perhaps the hardest deal to engineer, but not impossible. Chelsea can meet the player’s salary demands and City could probably name their price, but would open themselves up to a fans’ backlash if they sold an iconic figure to their title rivals, in the same way Frank Lampard’s reputation has been permanently tarnished in the eyes of some Chelsea followers after the veteran moved the other way last summer.