Barcelona considering a second raid on Manchester City and are prepared to lose this star midfielder to get their target

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Barcelona are considering another transfer for a Manchester City player this January, with their eyes this time firmly looking in defence. 

Aymeric Laporte, Barca’s reported target, has worked himself back into favour this year under Pep Guardiola after falling down the pecking order following the arrival of Ruben Dias and re-emergence of John Stones last season, and Barcelona are taking notice as a result.

However, the key to this deal happening rest on the shoulders of a player Guardiola is said to be a huge admirer of, Frenkie de Jong.

According to Spanish outlet El Nacional, as quoted by the Daily Mail, De Jong is reluctant to leave Barcelona with five and half years still remaining on his current deal with the Blaugrana.

The midfielder joined the Spanish giants from Ajax in the summer of 2019, and has gone on to make 115 appearances, scoring 10 times and assisting with 14.

Due to Guardiola’s admiration for De Jong, from City’s end the deal would be likely to go ahead if financial terms can be agreed.

Barcelona have already splashed out around £55million on Man City forward Ferran Torres, albeit in staggered payments. But City are unlikely to allow this to happen again and will want some sort of instant return if they going to sanction a deal that will see them lose one of the Premier League’s top central defenders.

Manager Xavi even admitted that the club need to reduce their wage bill in order to register Torres, so any possibility of them signing Laporte will need to see players go out the door in order to free up wage space.

More Stories Aymeric Laporte Ferran Torres Frenkie de Jong Pep Guardiola Xavi