Manchester City look to have won the race to sign Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred, with a deal in principle having now been agreed.
The Blues were interested in signing the Brazilian midfielder during the January transfer window but were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to bring him to the Etihad. However, according to Goal, Manchester City have now agreed a deal in principle to complete the transfer this summer.
City were always initially planning on signing him in the summer, but then changed their mind midway through January, and decided to step up their efforts to sign the 24-year-old throughout January. However, the Blues were unable to break Shakhtar’s resolve, with the Ukrainian side keen to keep the midfielder for the remainder of their domestic and Champions League campaigns.
Since the closing of the window, the two clubs have been in constant talks with each other regarding a transfer, and now it is believed that they have agreed a deal in principle worth £44.5m – although nothing has been signed yet.
Fred will move the the Premier League leaders in the summer, where he is expected to become the long term successor to his fellow countryman Fernandinho, who incidentally also moved to Manchester from Shakhtar.
The news will also be a blow to City’s Manchester rivals, United, who had also been tracking the Brazilian as one of a number of targets to become a potential replacement for Michael Carrick.
Carrick has announced that he is retiring at the end of the season and will join Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff. Marouane Fellaini is also expected to leave the club on a free transfer after failing to agree a new deal, leaving Manchester United’s midfield desperately short on numbers.
They have also been linked with Leander Dendoncker, Jorgingo and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as potential recruits this summer.
