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Football

19th Feb 2016

Pep Guardiola ready to hijack Liverpool’s pursuit of promising Swiss midfielder

Money talks

Kevin McGillicuddy

Pep Guardiola’s shopping list gets bigger by the day.

The former Barcelona man is heading for the Etihad this summer and before he gets to Manchester, he’s likely to have a number of players in mind to bolster the City dressing room.

The Bayern Munich boss is likely to have to remodel his midfield, with Yaya Toure heading for the exit door, and it seems that Guardiola is determined to hijack a move by Liverpool for a highly rated midfielder.

It was suggested last month that Jurgen Klopp had put in place the details for a summertime purchase of Granit Xhaka.

Borussia Moenchengladbach v FK Sarajevo - UEFA Europa League Qualifying Play-Offs Round: Second Leg

The 23-year-old is understood to be on a number of club’s shopping lists but it was felt that Klopp’s understanding with Borussia Monchengladbach could see him beat the competition to his signature for a “bargain” £35million.

However it’s reported in Bild this morning that Guardiola, and his Manchester City millions, are likely to be able to outbid Liverpool to the tune of £39million.

Xhaka is a full Swiss international, and with City in the market it is unlikely, Ian Ayre will be able to cough up enough money to keep him away from travelling to the blue half of Manchester, rather than the red side of Liverpool.

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