Manchester City are interested in securing the services of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred next summer. Some sources are claiming that the Citizens’ boss Pep Guardiola has shown interest in the Brazilian forward and wants to improve his midfield options for the next campaign. The 24-year-old starred in central midfield in Shakhtar Donetsk’s Champions League victory over the Manchester outfit earlier this month. It is being reported that Fred’s impressive performance on the night caught Guardiola’s attention and preliminary talks about a possible move in the near future have taken place internally between the two clubs since then.The Manchester club are adamant to do business early next summer so that it gives their Spanish manager enough time to prepare for the upcoming campaign.
Fred is predominantly a defensive midfielder who can protect the back four but also has a knack for scoring goals. The Ivorian international Yaya Toure is all set to part ways with the Citizens at the end of the current campaign which will leave some room for a new midfielder who can compete for a starting place with Fernandinho in Pep Guardiola’s squad.
The Spanish manager has a history of doing business with the reigning Ukrainian champions as evidenced by his move for Douglas Costa from them during his time in Bayern Munich and defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy from when he was the Barcelona manager.
Manchester City are currently leading the Premier League and has gained a 13 point lead over rivals Manchester United at the top of the league standings. They possess a midfield which is brimming with attacking talent in the form of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and İlkay Gündoğan while Fernandinho does all the dirty work at the centre of the park.
However, Guardiola knows that an injury to his Brazilian midfielder could leave them a little vulnerable in defence and has identified Fred as an ideal replacement for the outgoing Yaya Toure, who is currently playing second-fiddle to Fernandinho.
Manchester City are preparing for a trip to Tyneside to take on Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday night with the club still unbeaten in domestic competitions so far. They are firmly in the driver’s seat to become five-time English champions by securing another Premier League title at the end of this season.
Fred has featured in 24 matches for Shakhtar Donetsk in this campaign and has scored 2 goals and made 4 assists. He is a talent who can improve the Citizens in the near future as they look to establish themselves as one of the top clubs in Europe. It remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola is successful in getting his man next summer.
