Manuel Pellegrini Set to Make Move for Willian of Anzhi Makhachkala

Manchester City are interested in signing Anzhi Makhachkala’s Brazilian midfielder Willian, according to ESPN Brazil (via 101 Great Goals).

After an incredible 48 hours for the Russian side, who sacked coach Rene Meulensteen after just 16 days in charge and made many of their big-name players available for transfer, some of Europe’s top clubs are circling in the hope of landing themselves a bargain.

The club’s billionaire owner, Suleiman Kerimov, previously spent a fortune trying to bring instant success to Anzhi after taking over the club in 2011. He is now scaling back his ambitions and dramatically reducing the club’s outlay.

Club chairman Konstantin Remchukov wrote on Twitter this week (via The Express):

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The main news is that Anzhi will undergo a reformatting. Many of our expensive stars will leave Anzhi, while the club's budget will be decreased to $50-$70 million (£32.5-£45.5 million) a year. We failed to clinch rapid success. Now Anzhi will develop its academy according to the medium-term plans of club development.

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City are thought to have lodged a bid of £35 million before Anzhi announced their intention to reduce their budget. If their interest is concrete, they will surely now be looking at a reduced fee for the midfielder.

According to The Mirror, Tottenham and Chelsea are also said to be interested in Willian, who impressed during his time at Shakhtar Donetsk before moving to Anzhi for around £30 million. He is a former teammate of new City midfielder Fernandinho.

With so much uncertainty at Anzhi, now would seem like the perfect time to try to buy some of their expensively assembled squad.

Willian is a player with an excellent reputation and Champions League experience, but most observers agree that City are well stocked in midfield and attack. Instead, further defensive options are needed to cover the departing Kolo Toure and injury to Matija Nastasic.

If Manuel Pellegrini makes a move, it will certainly be interesting to see what effect that will have on existing members of City's squad.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @TypicalCity