Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 5y

Real Madrid target Manchester City's Brahim Diaz in £10m January deal - sources

Real Madrid want to sign Manchester City youngster Brahim Diaz in the January transfer window and hope to agree a deal for around £10 million, sources have told ESPN.

Diaz, 19, is out of contract at the end of the season but Madrid want to complete a move in the new year to ensure he moves to the Bernabeu.

City have offered the Spain under-21 international a new contract but sources told ESPN FC that the former Malaga youth team player wants to leave to gain game more time.

Diaz has made just three appearances this season, scoring twice in the 2-0 victory over Fulham in the Carabao Cup in November but has not been given any minutes since.

He is able to speak to any clubs from January and would be available for a free transfer, excluding training fees in the summer.

But Madrid want to ensure they don't miss out on Diaz with Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain linked with a move for the forward. And an early move, with a substantial transfer fee, is seen as commitment on how Madrid see him as part of their future plans.

Madrid president Florentino Perez has a policy of investing in the best emerging Spanish talent, with Isco, Marco Asensio, Jesus Vallejo, Dani Ceballos and Alvaro Odriozola among those signed through recent years.

City boss Pep Guardiola has said that he wants to keep the teenager but said he should leave he doesn't want to stay.

"The case of Brahim is very simple," he said in November. "If he doesn't want to stay, he has to leave."

It would be a blow to City's youth policy after they lost highly-rated winger Jadon Sancho in 2017 to Borussia and have watched him become an England international.

However, Manchester-born midfielder Phil Foden signed a five-and-a-half year contract last week and played in the Champions League victory over Hoffenheim on Wednesday.

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