Transfer Rumors 2018: Manchester City Planning to Sign Shakhtar Donetsk's Fred This Month
Brazilian midfielder Fred may be heading to Manchester City before the January transfer window closes.
Football journalist Duncan Castles has previously reported that Fred has already agreed to join City in the summer, but recent reports have indicated that the Premier League leaders are now looking to bring him over this month.
"While it was expected that he would be allowed to stay at Shakhtar and move to England in the summer, in recent days City have been trying to convince the Ukrainians to let him leave now," Sam Lee said in his report for Goal.com.
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"As reported at the weekend, City are hopeful of signing him at some stage, although the structure of the deal is yet to be put in place and his exact arrival time will also be another factor to be decided during talks over the coming days," he added.
According to Goal.com, City are expected to pay up to £40 million for his services.
Of course, it should be noted that City still have to convince Shakhtar Donetsk to allow Fred to leave this month. That's going to be a difficult task because the Ukrainian giants are still competing in the Champions League and they can't afford to lose a key member of their squad in the middle of the season.
In any case, Fred is seen as a long-term successor for Fernandinho.
The 32-year-old Fernandinho is having a superb season so far and he has just signed a two-year contract extension that will see him remain with the club until 2020. But the Brazilian midfielder is not getting any younger, and no matter how good he is right now, he's not going to stay productive forever.
Just take a look at former first-team mainstay Yaya Touré. The four-time African Footballer of the Year is now a shell of his former self at age 34 and he hasn't seen much action this year.
City don't need Fred right now, but they are thinking long-term here and he may become a vital member of the starting XI in years to come.
