Manchester City round-up: AC Milan sensation lined up; midfielder set to be offered new deal; Zabaleta to leave

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The Sun have reported over the weekend that Manchester City have firmly joined a race alongside rivals Manchester United to sign highly-rated AC Milan and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The report claims that the promising 18-year-old has already told friends that he’ll be moving to the Premier League in the near future, leaving City ready to pounce and bring him to the Etihad.

With only one year left on his current deal at the San Siro in Italy, Donnaruma has sparked City manager Pep Guardiola’s interest – with the Spaniard openly wanting to bring in a new number one.

And with the Italian set to snub any contract negotiations with AC Milan, it is believed that the City owners would be willing to offer Donnaruma a £70,000-a-week deal if he made the move.

With Willy Caballero’s future up in the balance with his contract ending at the end of the season, Claudio Bravo underperforming in his debut season and Joe Hart destined not to play for Manchester City again upon his return from Serie A side Torino, the Milan youngster would be ideal.

According to reports, Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is on the verge of being offered a new contract at the club once his current deal runs out at the end of the season.

Toure has been at the heart of speculation in recent weeks, with The Sun reporting that both Brighton and Newcastle – as well as a host of other Premier League clubs – were gaining interest.

But BBC Sport has reported that the probability of being offered an extension by Pep Guardiola is increasing in likeliness, completing the Spaniard’s U-turn after a fall-out between the two earlier in the year.

The Ivorian was left out of City’s early Champions League squad this season and didn’t feature in the Premier League until November, but has since made 29 appearances and been integral to the team.

With one City player set to commit his future to the club, one is on his way out as Manchester City announced over the weekend that Pablo Zabaleta will be leaving at the end of the season.

Manchester City’s club website released a statement on Saturday that the Argentine will call it a day on his nine-year spell at the Citizens, leaving over the summer once his contract runs out.

Zabaleta has made 332 appearances for the Manchester side since joining from Espanyol, but has been struggling for regular game-time this season under Guardiola, starting just eleven matches.

With Zabaleta into his 30s now – and with Pep Guardiola openly wanting to invest some youth into his defence – the Argentine has decided to move on in hope of finding first-team football elsewhere.

During his time at the Etihad, the 32-year-old helped City win two Premier League titles and led them to silverware in the 2011 FA Cup final for the first time in 35 years.

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