Premier League giants Manchester City are reportedly keen on signing Darijo Srna, and are set to hijack Barcelona’s bid for the Croatian right-back in January.
Darijo Srna seems to be a man in high demand right now. La Liga champions Barcelona are reported to be in talks with the former Croatia captain, with a view to signing Srna on a temporary basis in January. Fresh reports last week also confirmed that Srna is aware of the club’s interest in him and was open to a move to Camp Nou, having spent 13 years at Shakhtar Donetsk.
Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, however, have now reported that Manchester City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain has been keeping a tab on the negotiations between Srna and Barcelona and is now stepping up his charge to hijack the Blaugrana’s move for the 34-year-old Croat. Mundo Deportivo also reported the Begiristain has collected information on the situation between Srna and Barcelona in order to weigh up a move for the right-back.
Srna, who is older than each of City’s four first team squad fullbacks, is still widely regarded as one of the best right-backs in Europe. At the start of the current season, he has been at his brilliant, influential best yet again for Shakhtar Donetsk, turning in solid and impressive displays in the Ukranian Premier League as well as the Europa League.
On top of that, Srna is believed to be a player who Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admires a lot, and holds in high regard despite his advancing years. In fact, Guardiola even tried to sign the former Croatian captain several times when he was still in charge of Barcelona. However, Srna’s undying loyalty to Shakhtar meant that he turned down the appealing move to Camp Nou on various occasions alongside scuppering offers from clubs like Chelsea and Bayern Munich among others.
However, it is now believed that Srna has expressed his desire to move on from Ukraine after 13 years of loyal service, and Shakhtar won’t stand in his way. With Manchester City entering the fray all of a sudden, this has taken an interesting turn, and the imminent transfer saga will be fascinating to see for fans of both the clubs.
