According to reports from Mirror Football yesterday evening, Manchester City are lining up Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender as a potential alternative to in-demand Juventus star Paul Pogba.
The former Manchester United youngster has emerged as one of the most complete centre-mids in world football since swapping Old Trafford for the Old Lady in summer 2012, going on to claim three consecutive Serie A titles with the Turin outfit.
But no less than seven top European clubs are chasing the 22 year-old’s signature this summer, as This Is Futbol revealed last month, whilst Juve are believed to have landed the 2013 Golden Boy with a £70million price-tag.
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Consequentially, Mirror Football claim suitors Man City have turned their attentions to Bayer Leverkusen enforcer Lars Bender.
The 26 year-old is dynamo of the Bayer midfield, this season averaging an impressive 4.4 tackles per match in the Champions League, and has also impressed on the international scene with Germany, netting four times in 19 appearances.
But Mirror Football claim the brother of Dortmund’s Sven is also a potential target for local rivals Manchester United, with Louis van Gaal wanting a top-class holding midfielder ahead of next season.
According to the British tabloid, Bender is rated at the considerably lesser price of £25million.