Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, is prepared to make a wholesome change to his squad next summer. Yaya Toure is one of the players who could be shown the door.
The Ivorian is one of the six players who is out of contract at the end of the season, and chances are less that he will be given a new deal.
Toure has expressed his desire to stay at City, but Guardiola probably doesn’t see the 33-year-old as a key part of his long term plans.
His agent, Dimitri Seluk, has claimed Toure would be open to offers from rival clubs, including Manchester United.
Seluk said, as quoted by Sky Sports:
Why not? Jose Mourinho is a very good coach. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was together with Yaya in Barcelona.
I understand this is two clubs who are rivals but for me, for example, this is not a problem from Yaya or from me, this problem will be from Manchester City staff.
Toure said in an earlier interview that he loves City and would “definitely” want to stay at the club. However, it solely depends on whether City offer him a new deal or not.
Seluk said that after getting no confirmation from City yet, they have officially started negotiating with different clubs for the midfielder. He added:
I said to Manchester City that we will start negotiations with other clubs about the future of Yaya. After that, if Manchester City want, they can start negotiations. If they don’t want then we will find another club.
Yaya can, tomorrow, sign a contract with another club and after that for Manchester City it is too late. They don’t say anything; he must say or he must go. They can think it and Manchester City one of the options. We are open to negotiations. But tomorrow, for example, we heard with Chelsea, he will sign with Chelsea.
Toure was frozen out by Guardiola at the start of the season after a row between the club and his agent. However, he has reclaimed his place and has been pivotal in City’s midfield.
The Ivorian has been a great asset for City since he joined from Barcelona in 2010. He has made over 280 appearances for the club, and has won two Premier League titles. City fans will be deeply upset with him if he moves to their cross-town rivals in the summer.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
