By David Lee Wheatley
Pellegrini ready to pounce for protégé
Young
Malaga attacking midfielder Isco is set to decide between joining former
manager Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City or taking on the challenge of
overhauling the likes of Ozil and Khedira for a place in a star-studded Real
Madrid midfield.
It’s
believed an offer of £30 million has been lodged by both parties and Isco
stated recently it’s his intention to make a choice after tonight’s Under-21
European Championship final against Italy. Once he gets that fixture out of the
way, he’ll show his hand regarding the next destination of what promises to be
a fascinating career.
New
City boss Pellegrini knows the former Valencia player well and will be
desperate to add the 21-year-old to his squad for next season. Isco’s passing
ability and drive from the middle of the park would be valuable commodities for
the Manchester club as they enter a new era.
Meanwhile,
Real Madrid fear the potential loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and will view Isco as
a fine replacement should the Portuguese superstar up sticks anytime soon.
It
was a reasonably slow start to his professional career when with Valencia, as
he failed to make an impact on the first-team and spent much of his time with
the ‘B’ side. Having gone back and forth between the two teams, Isco helped the
second-string side to promotion to the third-tier of Spanish football with a
15-goal haul, prompting Malaga to trigger the player’s minimum fee release
clause with a bid of 6m Euros.
It
was after the switch to Malaga in 2011 that the skilful attacker improved immeasurably
and this past campaign was perhaps his most impressive thus far. There are
several clubs keeping tabs on the Spain international from all over Europe, but
it appears to be a two-horse race going into the final straight for his
signature.
Wherever
Isco ends up, his ability will surely make him a global star.
Find us at facebook.com/DLWSports
Follow on Twitter @davewh1980
No comments:
Post a Comment