Gabriel Jesus to Manchester City: Agent confirms ‘very advanced’ talks as rivals Manchester United lose out in race
New Brazilian star set to make Etihad switch this summer but will remain on loan at current club Palmeiras until December
MANCHESTER CITY look to have beaten Manchester United to Gabriel Jesus after the youngster’s agent confirmed he was in ‘very advanced’ talks with the Etihad club.
Pep Guardiola is confident of winning the race for Gabriel’s signature after tabling a bid earlier this month, and it now appears the new City chief has seen off competition from his fierce city rivals.
The £26million-rated forward is expected to be announced shortly, but will remain on loan at current club Palmeiras until the end of the Brazilian season in December.
Gabriel is highly regarded as one of the country’s most exciting talents alongside Gabriel Barbosa, who is closing in on a move to Juventus.
And the 19-year-old now looks set to ply his trade in the Premier League after his agent revealed City were in the driving seat despite late interest from Inter Milan.
Cristiano Soames told : “I can say that we are defining certain contractual aspects. We’re negotiating these.
“We are very advanced with Manchester City. [Interest from Inter?] We’ll see.”
United had been hoping to bring Gabriel to England, while there were plenty of offers from some of Europe’s biggest names.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was hoping to land the youngster, with reports claim a pre-contract agreement had been struck.
It was also claimed that Barcelona director of football Raul Sanllehi had travelled to Palmeiras to thrash out a deal at the start of July, with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich also linked in recent times.
But Gabriel will instead become City’s fourth signing of the summer following the captures of Nolito, Ilkay Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
There is also strong interest in Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci as well as fellow centre-back and Everton ace John Stones, while a shock move for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi could also be on the cards.