Pep Guardiola’s side are already aiming for bigger and better things after Arsenal drop their bid for Rice

Manchester City have turned their attention to another midfield target after ending their interest in signing Declan Rice from West Ham United.

Pep Guardiola’s side have turned down a potential deal for the 24-year-old after it was revealed Arsenal had offered £105million including add-ons for the England international, a price City are unwilling to offer. just don’t want to pay.

Although Manchester City have already announced the signing of Matteo Kovacic from Chelsea this transfer window, Manchester City are still exploring other midfield options to replace Ilkay Gundogan who is moving to Barcelona.

And according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, City are now in the race to sign Gabri Veiga from Celta Vigo, a midfielder targeted by Arsenal and Liverpool this summer.

The 21-year-old has a €40m release clause and enjoyed a breakthrough for Celta Vigo in La Liga in the 2022/23 season. The Spaniard has scored 11 goals in 36 appearances and provided four more assists for his teammates.

Arsenal would have been in pole position to snap up Veiga in April, but after spending much of their time signing Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, Liverpool then emerged as the new favorites.

But with the City hat-trick coming into play, everything could finally change.
Veiga has been compared to Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala for his dribbling style, frankness and low center of gravity.

An attacking midfielder who can play on both wings, he would most likely play in one of Guardiola’s No.8 roles.

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Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, might be forced into approving a transfer he rejects.

Caoimhin Kelleher could be heading for a Liverpool exit this summer.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp does not want to lose Caoimhin Kelleher this summer, but he may be forced to let his reserve goalkeeper go. The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper is looking for a steady start after several seasons as a substitute for Alisson

Highly regarded at Anfield, the 24-year-old has won the hearts of supporters with his contributions in recent campaigns, gaining fame for his penalty-saving heroics. But Kelleher has now reached an age where he wants to play regularly.

And with Alisson regular first choice at Liverpool following another world-class season, the Reds face the prospect of losing their reliable number 2 in the coming weeks. Anfield report that Klopp would ideally like to keep the Irishman for at least a year.

But Kelleher only played five times last season and eight times the year before. He rivals Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu for Ireland’s No. 1 and his compatriot made 32 Premier League appearances last season.

So if an attractive offer should arrive this summer, Kelleher will be happy to try it out. And Klopp’s transfer policy during his time on Merseyside was mainly to allow players to leave when there is a better opportunity elsewhere or when they want to leave.

It could mean that Germany against their wishes will give Kelleher the green light to leave this summer in gratitude for his loyalty over the past few seasons. Despite his talent, the goalkeeper did not complain about a lack of playing time.

Any departure would force Klopp to replace him, preferably with a homegrown player, lest he take another non-native spot. The Reds currently only have two such positions available.

A goalkeeper who fits those criteria and has been linked with Liverpool is Hannover 96’s Ron-Robert Zieler. The former Manchester United player qualifies as homegrown, despite being German, thanks to his stay in Manchester between 2005 and 2010

He has never made an appearance in the Red Devils first team, but the former Leicester mercenary would therefore avoid taking one of the bottom two non-homegrown places.

This would be beneficial as many of Liverpool’s other summer targets would also take those places, such as Nice’s Khephren Thuram and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Manu Kone.

Liverpool will be happy to have a reliable number 2 as they have the Europa League to play in 2023-24. If cheap signing Zieler is not an option, 36-year-old Adrian – who has been third-choice for the last three seasons – has signed a contract extension and could be promoted as Alisson’s backup.