Manchester City are monitoring developments surrounding the future of Sevilla defender Jules Conde as they consider alternatives to Nathan Ake.
Barcelona leads the chase to sign Conde and offers Netherlands striker Memphis Depay, as part of their offer.
Foot Manchester City They made an offer to Conde before signing Ruben Dias for £61m in 2020 and they are evaluating goals before allowing Ake to join Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Barcelona is also in the running for Conde, with Gerard Pique’s future far from certain, but he will find it difficult to face the financial strength of Manchester City and Chelsea.
And the impending bidding war is good news for Sevilla who will be looking to sell their guns to the highest bidder.
Sevilla will be hoping to demand a hefty fee for the 23-year-old to reinvest in the squad after defender Diego Carlos was sold to Aston Villa for £26m earlier in the transfer window.
Chelsea also had long-standing ambitions to sign the Frenchman, and had an agreement in principle last summer, before a row arose between the two clubs over fees.
The Blues have been strongly linked to Conde, especially after the losses of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on free transfers to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Although he continues to monitor condeChelsea appeared to be turning their attention elsewhere with their interest in Juventus’ Matthias de Ligt, but it is Chelsea’s pursuit of Nathan Ake that could pave the way for Manchester City to enter the race for Conde.
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If Chelsea succeed in their pursuit of Aki, City boss Pep Guardiola will have a loophole to fill in his defense and has identified Conde as Ake’s successor, according to the British newspaper, “Daily Mail”.
But Manchester City may not have a clear chance in a Conde deal as Chelsea can still look to pounce on the defender, if their efforts to lure De Ligt to Stamford Bridge are not successful.
With German champions Bayern Munich also at the De Ligt race, it seems that any team missing the Dutchman sees Conde as an ideal backup option.