JUST NOW: Man City hijacks an £86 million Arsenal deal, revealing Arsenal’s transfer strategy
Manchester City have dealt Arsenal a major blow to their hopes of signing Pedro Neto – so Mikel Arteta has drawn up the perfect backup plan. The 23-year-old winger was heavily linked with an exit from Wolves in the summer but an £86million move failed to materialise.
Neto, who sees his contract at Molineux expire in 2027, enjoyed a brilliant start to the Premier League season, racking up nine goals and assists in the opening 10 games. But at the end of October, the Portugal international suffered a hamstring injury against Newcastle United.
After nine weeks on the sidelines, Neto finally made his long-awaited return during Wolves’ 3-0 win over Everton at the end of December. Then, shortly after New Year’s Day, the Portuguese star fired Gary O’Neil’s side into the FA Cup fourth round with two assists against Brentford.
His impressive performances have reportedly courted the interest of both Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, who are both eager to further bolster their frontlines. According to FootballTransfers, Arsenal have been a long admirer of Neto, with the club’s interest dating back to the the 2020/21 campaign.
The report states that the Gunners are ‘getting ready to launch a bid’ in the summer, however they face tough competition from the reigning Premier League champions. So eager in fact that FootballTransfers believe Guardiola has urged the likes of Ruben Dias and Matheus Nunes – his very own secret agents – to talk him into a move to the Etihad Stadium.
However, the report adds that Arteta has been keeping his options open, identifying Xavi Simons as an alternative. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who is currently on loan at RB Leipzig from Paris Saint-Germain, has featured 18 times in the Bundesliga this term, scoring five goals and providing seven assists.
Sergio Aguero breaks silence on Man City’s 115 Premier League charges
Manchester City find themselves in limbo with the Premier League after they face allegations of breaking Financial Fair Play rules on 115 occasions
Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero is adamant the achievements he amassed during his time at the Etihad Stadium were completed ‘fair and square’.
City currently find themselves in hot water with the Premier League after the top flight charged them with 115 offences under competition rules for the period between 2009 and 2018. During this time, the Blues won the top flight on four occasions and flexed their dominance in domestic football too with two FA Cups and four League Cups added to their collection.
One of their star men during this period was Aguero. City spent £35m to bring the Argentine forward to the club from Atletico Madrid.
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During this time, Aguero established himself as a club legend, bagging a whopping 260 goals in 390 appearances for the Blues. Like many connected with City, the 35-year-old is keeping a close eye on proceedings against his former club.
When addressing the charges, which include allegations the club misrepresented their finances for nine whole seasons, Aguero was careful not to comment too much. But he did tell Stake.com: “I can say that our achievements as a team, on the field, were won with effort and sportsmanship, fair and square.”
It is almost a year since City were charged by the Premier League and the club firmly denies the allegations placed against them. Last week, the league’s CEO Richard Masters claimed a date had been set for City’s hearing but refused to mention when that would be.
In the meantime, Everton has been charged twice and punished once by the Premier League for FFP rule breaks and Nottingham Forest has received a charge too. It is understood City’s case is taking so long due to the complexity of the charges.
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