Manchester City Transfer News: Latest on Yaya Toure's Future Amid Exit Rumours

Dimitri Seluk, the agent for Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, has stated the Ivory Coast international will look to sign a pre-contract with another team in January and his departure will see his current club lose millions of supporters.

Toure’s future at the Etihad Stadium looks to be in serious doubt under manager Pep Guardiola, as he was recently left out of the team’s UEFA Champions League squad.

According to Seluk, he’s on the lookout for potential options in January, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, per Sam Cunningham of MailOnline:

"

Yaya in January can sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs abroad. He will have many offers from clubs. China and America of course they want him but we will have a lot of offers from England and Europe. He is in very good shape, very good condition, I think he lost seven kilograms. 

Maybe that’s not good enough for Guardiola, but then Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t good enough for him. In January we will see. It is three months to wait—no problem. Yaya is a very professional guy.

"

While Seluk evidently believes City are making a big error by marginalising Toure, he also commented on other potential implications of losing the player. Indeed, the agent feels as though Manchester United’s fanbase could swell in Africa as a result of his client leaving the Etihad Stadium.

“They will lose a lot of millions of supporters from Africa because of this decision from Guardiola,” he said. “Now they will support Manchester United. A lot of people in Africa say they will never see any more matches of City on TV.”

Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

Given the intense manner in which Guardiola demands his team play, it’s little surprise that Toure has fallen down the pecking order.

After all, while the 33-year-old still possesses brilliant skills with the ball at his feet and an ability to make key contributions in the final third, in defence he's quickly become a passenger for City. Any team that does acquire Toure will have to find a system in which his talents can be catered for effectively.

As we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football, the former Barcelona man's influence at the highest level has gradually waned:

According to Twitter, the Premier League team with the most followers in the Ivory Coast is Chelsea, the former club of the country’s iconic forward, Didier Drogba, with 35.5 per cent. Arsenal (22.83 per cent) and City (15.54 per cent) are in second and third place, respectively.

SIA KAMBOU/Getty Images

The same study noted that United are the most popular team in the more southern regions of the continent, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

After leading the Ivory Coast to glory at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Toure remains one of the biggest figures in African football history.

Even so, it’s apparent he’s not the right kind of fit for Guardiola’s setup, and it would be a big shame if—after six brilliant years at City—his departure from the club was a bitter one.