Manchester City Transfer News: Miralem Pjanic Linked in Latest Rumours

Manchester City are reportedly "persistent and insistent" in their pursuit of Juventus star Miralem Pjanic.

According to Tuttosport (h/t Sport Witness), the Sky Blues are "moving towards an offer," which will be "very close to €100 million" (£89 million).

While Juventus are said to have taken an outward stance that he is "not for sale," in private, it seems they would welcome an offer of that size after splashing out on Cristiano Ronaldo.

City missed out on Napoli star Jorginho when he joined Chelsea earlier this month, and he would have been a superb buy for manager Pep Guardiola.

Pjanic would be a similarly strong capture who can also act as a deep-lying playmaker and has the technical attributes to thrive under the coach.

The Bosnian excels at spraying the ball around to great effect, and he has assisted 28 goals during his two seasons with Juventus.

A set-piece specialist, he's a threat from free-kicks and shots from distance too, helping him notch 15 goals during his time in Turin.

However, BBC Sport's Simon Stone cast doubt on City's reported desire to sign the midfielder:

If the Citizens aren't desperate to sign an alternative to Jorginho, it's unlikely they'll be prepared to splash out as much as would seemingly be required, even on a player of Pjanic's quality.

It's said Chelsea, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the 28-year-old. He would seem an unnecessary purchase for Chelsea given they've just signed Jorginho and also have Cesc Fabregas in their ranks, but if City aren't pushing to sign him, it could give some encouragement to his other potential suitors.