Manchester City are looking the favourites to beat rivals Manchester United to the signing of Argentine starlet Thiago Almada, according to a report in the Sun.
City boss Pep Guardiola has been interested in signing Almada from Velez Sarsfield for some time now and the report claims that the Catalan manager sees the 19-year-old as a long term successor to City veteran David Silva.
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The Citizens failed to land the Argentine youngster last year and his future is in doubt at the moment with Manchester United among his suitors, according to the Sun report.
Almada has provided five goals and two assists for Velez Sarsfield this season and reportedly wants to follow his idol Carlos Tevez in signing for Man City in this summer’s transfer window.
The Sun report that the Argentine youngster would be available for £15m plus add-ons and City are the front-runners for the youngster’s signature.
Almada would certainly benefit from a move to City by learning from players such as David Silva and fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero and if Guardiola’s interest is to be believed the youngster has a bright future ahead of him.
This would be a blow for United, who surely need to be winning transfer battles such as these if they are to close the gap on rivals City and get back to where they want to be after a difficult few years in which their local rivals have been far more successful.