City closing in on Clichy and Nasri; Inter to bid for Banega

City closing in on Clichy and Nasri

Manchester City are on the verge of completing shock moves for Arsenal duo Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy.

The Citizens are very close to signing Arsenal full-back for the fee of £7 million, with the Frenchman spotted leaving the restaurant in Manchester last night.

Roberto Mancini is not happy with his left-back options that include Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta, and has now secured the signing of Gael Clichy, according to Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, Manchester City chiefs are ready to offer another £20 million for Samir Nasri so as to offer the Frenchman an escape route from Arsenal.

The Gunners playmaker has already hinted that he want to leave the club in search for honours and is unlikely to agree a new deal at the Emirates.

He has been linked with a move to Manchester United but could now make a u-turn and sign for their biggest rivals.

Inter to bid for Banega

Inter Milan have reignited their interest in Valencia midfielder Ever Banega, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Neroazzurri have been keeping tabs on the Argentina international for quite a while, but have now decided to step up their bid to sign the midfielder.

The interesting thing is that this comes after Banega was heavily criticized for his performance in Argentina’s 1:1 draw with Bolivia in their opening Copa America game.

The Valencia midfielder was the only one to blame for Bolivia’s opening goal, but that didn’t stop Inter from expressing interest in the 23-year-old.

Valencia are reportedly prepared to cash in on their prized asset this summer, and los Che have already found him a replacement in Daniel Parejo.

Inter are willing to offer €9 million for the Argentine, although Valencia chiefs are unlikely to be satisfied with that figure.

Los Che were hoping that Banega’s price will increase after the Copa America tournament, but it will now take several impressive performances from the player for that to happen.

Mourinho to strip Casillas of captaincy

Jose Mourinho is set to take the captain’s armband from Iker Casillas, according to Marca.

The Portuguese coach is seriously thinking about changing the Real Madrid captain for next season.

He wants his captain to be able to communicate with the referees on the pitch, which is why he could decide to strip Iker Casillas of captaincy.

The Portuguese is eager to hand the armband to an outfield player and already has a couple of very good candidates for the role.

Defender Sergio Ramos and midfielder Xabi Alonso look like obvious choices and it is very likely that one of them will wear the armband next season.

Mourinho is aware that taking the armband from Casillas could have a detrimental effect on both the player himself and the rest of the squad.

This is why he will offer Casillas to stay in charge of internal affairs, meaning that the Spanish keeper will still be considered a captain off the pitch.

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