Manchester City have joined several other European heavyweights in the race to sign Torino’s striking sensation Andrea Belotti, as per reports.
The Daily Mirror have reported that Manchester City are the latest team to join the race to sign Andrea Belotti in the summer. The Citizens now look set to challenge bitter city rivals Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and several other European heavyweights in pursuit of the Torino striker.
Belotti has been on fire in 2016/17, and he currently leads the charts to become the Serie A top scorer come the end of the season. The Italy international has netted 22 goals in addition to 3 assists in the Italian top flight, and only Dries Mertens boasts a better scoring rate in the league.
The latest in the series of stellar performances from Belotti’s boots came last weekend as he scored a spectacular eight-minute hat-trick against Palermo on Sunday. And it is exploits like these that have seen Belotti become such a highly sought after talent this season.
In fact, there is barely any top club in Europe that hasn’t already been linked with a move for the Torino star. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have all circled around Belotti in recent months, but the former two seem to have bowed out of the race to sign him lately.
Manchester United are in a precarious situation with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with little known about a possible extension. Marcus Rashford has been earmarked as the long-term solution up top, but Mourinho is also said to be eyeing a top quality partner to challenge the Englishman at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid are also looking to buy a striker in the summer, with Karim Benzema struggling to find his best form this season and Alvaro Morata not being favoured much by Zinedine Zidane. Los Blancos are prepared to meet Belotti’s release clause and he could be a long-term replacement as the leader of the attack at the Bernabeu.
Bayern Munich then became the latest club to join the chase for the Italian, with reports claiming that the Bavarian giants have already held preliminary talks with Torino over a possible summer move.
However, it now looks like these clubs are all set to be joined by Manchester City in the race to sign Belotti in the summer, with Pep Guardiola keenly monitoring his progress.
Sergio Aguero’s future with City is currently up in the air following the arrival of Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian has settled in quickly in England and is being eyed as a long-term solution up top for the Citizens, along with Kelechi Iheanacho.
If Belotti enters the mix, Pep Guardiola can make his attack one of the most fearful in Europe, with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne also in support. Torino president Urbano Cairo has placed a value of €150 million on Belotti’s head, and it remains to be seen how things develop in the summer.
