"?Pep Guardiola looks set to fight former club Barcelona for the signature of Borussia Dortmund's Julian Weigl, according to reports in the "?Sun.
The Manchester City manager is on the look out for reinforcements in the January transfer window and have identified the young German midfielder as an ideal candidate to help the side maintain their title challenge.
Guardiola has asked City to bring in Weigl https://t.co/Gid0p0tzFQ
Weigl began his career at 1860 Munich before joining Dortmund in 2015 on a four-year-deal. Having made over 50 appearnces for his new club, the midfielder has recently signed a contract exentsion which now keeps him at the westfalenstadion until 2021.
Guardiola has asked City to bring in Weigl https://t.co/Gid0p0tzFQ
Guardiola has been quoted as saying he is "in love" with Weigl and identified the German as a top target when he first agreed to move to the Etihad.
But whilst the Spaniard sees the 21-year-old as a long term replacement for the recently rejuvenated Yaya Toure, it appears that Barcelona also see the defensive midfielder as a long term option.
The Catalans are already eyeing a future replacment for Sergio Busquets who at 28, still appears to have several years at the peak of his powers.
Although Barcelona are currently looking to sort out Lionel Messi's immediate future, they are also keen to identfy a number of young players who will one day be at the forefront of the team's plans.
Samuel Umititi, Lucas Digne and Andre Gomes were all brought to the Nou Camp last summer as the club look to build a team for the future and they will be keen to beat City to Weigl's signature to add him to the equation.