Manchester City have €50m bid for Juventus midfielder rejected

Pep Guardiola wants another playmaker

Manchester City are on the hunt for a new holding midfielder. Fernandinho has been a huge success, so much so that Pep Guardiola once described how he'd love to have a team of 11 Fernandinho clones, but age is starting to catch up with him. If City are to sustain their dominance in the Premier League, they need another holding midfielder, with younger legs, who can ease the workload on the other midfielders. They have already had a bid for Napoli's Jorginho turned down, so have now turned their attention to Juventus' Miralem Pjanić. According to tuttosport, City have submitted a €50m bid and had it swiftly rejected. Pjanić scored 7 goals last season for Juve, with 14 assists to boot. His distribution from deep areas would make him perfect for City in attack, but he is not naturally a defensive player. With David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne either side of him, the Bosnian would be burdened with a lot of defensive responsibility. City already have Ilkay Gündogan and Fabian Delph in their squad, but having let go of club veteran Yaya Touré this window, they could do with another body in midfield, preferably one who can step into Fernandinho's shoes when the time is right.