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Pep clears Juventus to sign unwanted Man City man on one condition

Massimiliano Allegri’s express wish to sign an unwanted Manchester City man has been given the green light by Pep Guardiola – but only if the Blues land a signing of their own first.

Allegri is back in the Juventus helm after a two-year absence and is already masterminding their return to power. And Allegri plans to start by refreshing an attack that did not always hit top gear under Andrea Pirlo.

Their urgent priority will be to finalise the future of star man Cristiano Ronaldo. The 36-year-old is now on a break after Portugal’s elimination at Euro 2020. However, he looks likely to be allowed to leave, with PSG a likely destination.

With a hole to fill, Allegri is reported to have made City striker Gabriel Jesus his No 1 target.

As per Gazzetta dello Sport, Jesus is Allegri’s ‘first choice’, as he is ‘young versatile and likely to integrate himself nicely with the other forwards’.

Indeed, they state Jesus is seen as the man to lead the line for Juventus, with Paulo Dybala, Federico Chiesa and Dejan Kulusevski providing support from behind.

And now il Gazzetta claims Juve have been told that City are willing to sell the Brazilian for the right price. They state Jesus ‘doesn’t fit in Guardiola’s plans’, and they’d have ‘no problems sacrificing him this summer’.

However, there remains something of a catch. That’s because Gazzetta claims City will only allow Jesus to depart if they can secure the signing of Harry Kane this summer.

City have a £100m approach for the England striker left with Tottenham. As part of that offer, City have reportedly also offered Spurs the chance to sign one of five players. That list includes the unwanted Jesus.

And Gazzetta states that Juventus are staying ‘vigilant’ over developments with Kane.

As for Jesus, the Italian outlet claims he is looking to relaunch himself after a difficult season. The Brazilian featured 42 times in the season just finished, scoring 14 times. However, he was often overlooked by Guardiola – even in the absence of Sergio Aguero – and has never truly had the City boss’ trust.

And it’s claimed Jesus has ‘offered his availability to Juventus in an effort to relaunch himself’ after falling down the order.

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City look to Barcelona attacker

Meanwhile, Guardiola is being linked with an approach to sign Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann.

Guardiola is already planning to bring in a Plan B to Kane should their offer fail.

And according to Fijaches, the man at the top of that wanted list is Griezmann.

The Spanish outlet claims Guardiola is a long-term admirer of the France star. Furthermore, he sees him as an ideal signing to continue playing with their ‘false 9’ system.

In addition, Barcelona’s financial problems are well documented and it’s thought an offer of £50m could secure Griezmann’s signing.

Fijaches also believe the move to the Etihad Stadium would interest Griezmann too. The forward is yet to recapture his consistent best at the Nou Camp. However, it’s claimed he hopes the move could see him return to top form.

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