Man City plotting an eye-catching raid on PSG, Chelsea and other transfer rumours

Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi next summer.

The PSG forward’s contract in France is set to expire next summer, with reports suggesting he could seek pastures new. He has been linked with a return to former club Barcelona, but reports coming out of Spain now suggest La Blaugrana could face competition for his signature from City.

Fichajes reports that City have “always been interested in getting Messi’s services in order to have a dream attack with Erling Haaland”. The report adds that City boss Pep Guardiola, who worked with Messi at Barca, is a “key piece in convincing the Argentine to move to the Etihad Stadium”.

At 35, Messi is far from his prime and is nearing the end of his career. However, he continues to age like fine wine and the success as a playmaker could lengthen his career by a few years. He continues to pull strings in attack and still has admirers keen to sign him on.

To witness one of the greatest players ever to have graced a football pitch in the Premier League would be an honour, so it will be interesting to see if either Chelsea or Manchester City follow up their interest.

Whether Messi is interested in a move to England or not remains to be seen, but it would be amazing to see before he retires.

It has been claimed in recent weeks that City are keen on a move for Chelsea star Kai Havertz.

CaughtOffside (citing journalist Simon Phillips), claim Man City are interested in bringing Havertz to the Etihad.

However, the report suggests it’s ‘unlikely’ Chelsea would be anything other that dead against strengthening a direct Premier League rival such as Man City.

Havertz has played in a host of positions during his time at Leverkusen and Chelsea, so his versatility could make him a useful option for Manchester City.

But he may find it difficult to cement a regular starting place under Pep Guardiola due to the wealth of talent he already has at his disposal.

Elsewhere, Goal reports that the Italian team considers reported Man City target Khvicha Kvaratskhelia “non-transferable” and that they “will not accept any offer for him in January”.

It has been claimed in recent weeks by reports in Italy that the reigning English top-flight champions held an interest in the Napoli forward.

Kvaratskhelia has proved a revelation since joining Napoli from Georgian side Dinamo Batumi in the summer, scoring seven goals and providing eight assists in all competitions this season.

His form has helped his side establish a three-point lead at the top of Serie A and secure a place in the last-16 of the Champions League, and understandably Europe’s heavyweights have started to circle. 

While denials of transfer rumours are always expected mid-season, the situation may change as the summer transfer window of 2023 approaches.

Manchester City are expected in many corners to be eyeing up another major summer of change in various positions, such is their ever-present desire to keep on improving season on season.