Real Madrid midfielder Isco is reportedly in talks with Manchester City over a move in the summer transfer window.
Spanish publication Don Balon have reported that Isco is in secret negotiations with Manchester City over a possible switch to the Etihad Stadium in the summer transfer window, despite publicly insisting that he is happy at Real Madrid.
Things are suddenly looking optimistic for Isco at Real Madrid after a tough first half of the season, when he struggled to get starts from Zinedine Zidane. However, multiple injuries to Gareth Bale have turned the tables and Isco is starting to get regular game time.
Isco has still managed to start just 21 games across all competitions all through the current campaign – an underwhelming number for a player who is close to his peak. He has still managed to turn in a respectable tally for the season, having scored 10 goals and provided 6 assists in La Liga this season.
In the long-term future though, it is likely that Isco will drop back to the bench once Gareth Bale returns to fitness. Thus, he is of the opinion that his career would progress better elsewhere, at a club where he can get regular game time and continue to grow.
And there’s no shortage of interest in him, with the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain all linked with him in recent months. But, it now looks like Manchester City may have stolen the march over all of the aforementioned clubs to secure Isco’s services in the summer.
City are in hush-hush talks with Isco, as per the report, with the player himself keen to work under Pep Guardiola next season. The City boss himself sees the 25-year-old as the missing piece of puzzle in his team’s attack, an addition that can make his side a truly fearsome force.
In fact, Isco’s versatility allows him to slot into various roles in Guardiola’s side, as he can play in a deeper box-to-box role in a pivot as well as in an advance attacking midfield role behind the central striker equally adeptly.
His clever movement, change of pace and creative instinct is just the ideal foil for the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane and David Silva, and his addition can arguably make City’s attack the best in the Premier League.
Isco also has the motivation to join a club where he’ll be a fixture in the first-team plans as he wishes to secure a place in Julen Lopetegui’s plans for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It now remains to be seen if he can indeed complete the switch to the Etihad Stadium in the summer or if Real Madrid manage to keep hold of him.
