Manchester City have more than £200million in the summer transfer window and more transfers may be on the cards. However, Liverpool may have inadvertently prevented City from signing one of the top young players in European football.
Cengiz Under has been regarded as one of the highly rated talents in Europe. He had been linked with just about every top club so far, but it is understood that City were holding a special interest in him. However, Roma have been able to beat City to the signature of the 20-year-old. He has been signed from Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir for a fee of around £12million.
Under has spoken about his choice for the first time, and he says that he might have chosen City had it not been for Liverpool’s swift signing of Mohamed Salah from Roma. The Egyptian winger became our most expensive purchase at £36.9 million.
However, this transfer has not only given Roma with the funds to go out and buy Under, but also created a need for the same. Salah was one of the best players in the Roma team last season, and the club were aware that losing the Egyptian would be catastrophic for the 2017-18 campaign.
According to Manchester Evening News, Under said:
“They signed me as Salah’s replacement so I am here to play. We were in other talks with Man City, then I got a call from my agent who said ‘the Roma deal is done’, I couldn’t sleep that night.”
City manager Pep Guardiola, though, is unlikely to rest even after having splashed out on players like Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, and more. Most of the signings have been in the defence, and it is expected that the club would make more forward oriented signings in the coming weeks. Liverpool have been relatively quiet, with the signings of Mohamed Salah, Dominic Solanke, and Andy Robertson the key for Jurgen Klopp to maintain the push up the table.
Under was linked with a move to Liverpool a few months ago, but he has signed a five-year contract with Roma that keeps him at the club until 2022.
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