Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus is set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season, search of increased playing time in order to make assert his place in the national side ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The information arrives via Brazilian newspaper LANCE, which mentions the fact that there are several factors to take into consideration regarding the player’s future.
The forward has seen his playing time cut short by Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium despite him being the only pure centre-forward in the club’s ranks after the departure of Sergio Aguero last season. He made a rapid start to the season but soon fell out of favor on the right flank, mainly due to his recurring injuries and Riyad Mahrez’s upturn of form.
Gabriel Jesus ‘wants to leave Man City in £25m summer transfer’https://t.co/Jzp4Cd42CT
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) April 21, 2022
Manchester City have already confirmed the transfer of River Plate starlet Julian Alvarez, who was largely followed by both Milan and Inter in the past year. Moreover, there are strong indications that Erling Haaland will arrive in the sky blue of Manchester from Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
The report indicates that the Cityzens will be willing to part ways with the 25-year-old if an ‘interesting proposal’ comes their way, with the attacker seeing out the end of his five-year contract at the end of next season.
Barcelona have emerged as frontrunners to snap up the Palmeiras youth product as Xavi Hernandez seeks to bolster his forward line with young blood. However, the presence of Derby d’Italia rivals Juventus and Inter spices things up in the run for Jesus’ signature. According to reports from TuttoJuve, Jesus would act as the perfect replacement for Paulo Dybala, whereas Inter seek for someone to take the place of Lautaro Martinez.
The Brazilian’s transfermarkt value stands at €50m, but since he is in the final 12-months of his contract, interested suitors could very well grab him for almost half the price. There is little indication that City would be open to seeing him leave for free in the summer of 2023 and would rather make do with a discounted fee similar to what they paid to Palmeiras in 2016.