Man City Transfer News: Citizens Hoping To Sign Isco Within 48 Hours

By Joseph Dempsey /

Daily Mail. There were initial fears that Real Madrid could hijack the deal by convincing the midfielder to remain in Spain and the player himself was thought to be undecided over a move just one season before a World Cup year. But the 21-year old has now decided he is more likely to get more playing time at the Etihad than he would at the Bernabeu, where the likes of Mesut Ozil, Luka Modric, Kaka and Angel Di Maria would be competition. The chance to work again with Manuel Pellegrini, who has taken over from the sacked Roberto Mancini and coached the player for two years at Malaga, was also thought to have been a key factor in his decision to move to Manchester over Madrid. And the deal could even be wrapped up by as early as this weekend. The attacking midfielder, who scored 9 La Liga goals last season, commented:

"I prefer not to comment about my future but the matter could be closed this Sunday."
Malaga have granted permission for the Spaniard, who has played at every level for his country including senior, to speak with City€™s director of football Txiki Begiristain, and the former Barcelona man has persuaded Isco to move the Premier League over Barca's deadly rivals Real. The deal would take City's summer spending past the £70 million mark following the signings of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fernandinho and Sevilla winger Jesus Navas.

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