Manchester City look to add Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo to their ranks while Cristian Tello readies to play for Fiorentina following a one-year loan from Barcelona to the Italian club.
Claudio Bravo to join Manchester City for 25 million euros
The Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo is reportedly in talks with Manchester City for a €25 million transfer to the English club, according to Sport. Leading up to the Super Cup clash against Sevilla on Wednesday, fellow Barcelona player Javier Mascherano expressed surprise at the news, emphasising how none of the teammates were aware of these developments. While maintaining how he would prefer the Chilean to stay at Camp Nou, he also remarked how the rationale behind the rumoured move was perfectly understandable.
Recent developments at Manchester City lend greater credibility to the report, especially after Pep Guardiola’s preference of the Argentine Willy Caballero over Joe Hart in their opening Premier League match against Sunderland, which led Hart to reconsider his choices. ESPN reported that Hart may go ahead in trying to make a deal with either Everton or the Spanish club Sevilla, both of whom are interested in signing the English goalkeeper. Following a blocked attempt at procuring Marc Andre Ter-Stegen, Manchester City are now looking forward to signing the 33-year-old Chilean who has been the No. 1 for Barcelona over the last couple of years, playing 69 La Liga matches during that period.
Cristian Tello to return to Fiorentino for the 2016-17 season
Following an agreement between Barcelona and Fiorentina, the Spanish winger Cristian Tello will now be returning to the Italian club where he spent his last season. A press release from FC Barcelona states that at the end of the season, Fiorentina will have the option of permanently buying the Spaniard. The agreement also entails that money will have to be paid to Barcelona if Tello is not given a minimum number of matches to play. The 25-year-old winger spent all of last season on loan at Fiorentina where he played in 13 games for the Serie A club, scoring two goals and assisting in three others. The Italian club’s seventh signing this season, Tello had gone back at the expiry of his loan period and trained with Barcelona at the St. George’s Park. With Luis Enrique still firm on who he does and does not want, Tello will now be returning to Italy for the 2016-17 season.
Tello first joined the Spanish club in 2010/11 under Pep Guardiola where he played for three seasons before being transferred on loan in 2014 to FC Porto for two seasons. While the first season turned out to be a fruitful one for both him and the team, with him scoring 8 goals in 33 matches, the second season saw him lose his touch, following which he lost his spot in the team. His recent performances at Fiorentina suggest a return to form and this move for the 2016-17 season will be crucial for both the Spaniard as well as manager Paulo Sousa.
