World Cup winner: Llorente has become a regular for
Spain
£30m-man: Llorente (centre) is a target for Man
City
Manchester City are
closing in on a £30million deal to sign Athletic Bilbao's Spain
international striker Fernando Llorente.
Manager Roberto Mancini is ready
to let Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund target Edin Dzeko leave
the club, while the futures of fellow front men Carlos Tevez and
Mario Balotelli hang in the balance.
As a result, Mancini is in the
market for a striker and he has identified the 6ft 5in World Cup
winner as his preferred choice. The Sun claim that the two clubs are
deep into negotiations over a deal.
Despite a run to the Europa
League semi-finals, which saw them knock out Manchester United,
Bilbao are struggling in seventh place in La Liga and are looking
to cash in on their prize assets.
Llorente - who has seven goals
in 20 games for Spain and is likely to feature at Euro 2012 - is a
long term target of Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp. But Spurs will
not be able to compete with the £200,000-a-week salary that City
are prepared to offer the 27-year-old.
