La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are reportedly weighing up the prospect of signing Gabriel Jesus, valued at €30 million by Manchester City.
According to a report by Spanish publication MARCA, Gabriel Jesus is the subject of interest from Barcelona over a possible move in the summer transfer window. The Brazilian international is valued at around €30 million by Premier League champions Manchester City.
Gabriel Jesus joined Manchester City from Palmeiras in January 2017 and has since made gradual progress. The 25-year-old initially showed promising signs but has failed to build on a strong start to his Manchester City stint, even though Pep Guardiola preferred him to Sergio Aguero briefly.
The Brazilian international is now a rotation option for Manchester City, even though Guardiola does not have any other natural striker at his disposal. Jesus has been decent enough this term, amassing seven goals and 11 assists in 33 appearances, directly contributing to a strike every 110 minutes. But with a little over a year left on his Manchester City deal, Barcelona could look to prise him away from the Etihad.
Barcelona will enter the market for a striker in the summer transfer window, as Martin Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong are expected to depart from Camp Nou for good. The duo’s exit will leave Xavi Hernandez with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the only natural striker at his disposal.
Barcelona’s priority targets for the position are Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski. But while Haaland is too expensive for Barcelona to pursue, Lewandowski might not leave Bayern Munich despite his willingness to join the Blaugrana in the wake of recent comments from Oliver Kahn.
The Catalan giants thus need to turn their attention towards alternate options, with Jesus, Darwin Nunez and Rafael Leao emerging on their radar. And the Brazilian international will be the most cost-effective candidate for Barcelona, with Manchester City demanding around €30 million to part with him.
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Interestingly, Manchester City could be one of Haaland’s potential destinations, with Jesus likely to vacate the spot for the Norwegian international. It will be interesting to see if Barcelona will pursue a €30 million move for Jesus or launch the offensive for another striker as we get closer to the summer transfer window.