A revelation has emerged regarding Manchester City’s plans to bolster their midfield this summer.
In May, it was reported that City were unlikely to trigger the £100 million release clause in Bruno Guimaraes’ contract.
Fabrizio Romano had confirmed on X that the Brazilian’s release clause was set to expire on June 24.
Yet, Manchester City have chosen not to go ahead and pay the big bucks to sign the Newcastle United midfielder.
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Why Man City would rather sign Dani Olmo over Bruno Guimaraes
Despite the fact that a report stated in April that Pep Guardiola had earmarked the former Lyon technician as one of his midfield targets of choice, City have refused to budge from their decision not to pay £100 million to secure his services.
The question remains which midfielder the English giants have in mind to come in as an alternative for the 26-year-old.
The Sun have stated that one reason why Manchester City are keener on the signing of Dani Olmo over Guimaraes is due to the fact that his release clause is worth £60 million — almost half that of the Magpies hero’s.
As a result, City are considering bidding once again to sign the Spanish international, who the report claims they were interested in bringing to the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2023.
Furthermore, Manchester City are believed to have built strong relations with RB Leipzig due to signing Josko Gvardiol last year.
Dani Olmo as an alternative for Bruno Guimaraes is a surprising target
Considering Olmo is an attacking midfielder, capable of deputising out wide as well as up front, he is quite different to a player like Guimaraes, who is primarily a central midfielder — who is also capable of playing as a number six.
As a result, there seems to be a sense of confusion over the profile of midfielder the Sky Blues are targeting in the summer transfer window.
Since Ilkay Gundogan’s exit, Manchester City have lacked a number eight who has a knack for scoring goals and being creative; a quality Guimaraes has but as for Olmo, he has rarely ever played as a central midfielder during his career.
With that in mind, it would be a surprise if City wrap up the signing of the RB Leipzig attacker as an alternative to the former Athletico Paranaense midfielder.