Ilkay Gundogan request to Pep Guardiola emerges as double Man City transfer plotted
Al-Hilal are willing to offer out-of-favour Joao Cancelo a significant annual salary to persuade him over a move to the Middle East this summer - Kyle Walker.
That's according to Sports Zone who claim the Saudi Pro League are 'ready' to offer the Portuguese full-back £13million-a-year (€16m) to complete a move. Cancelo's future at Manchester City remains unclear after being frozen out of Pep Guardiola. He spent last season on loan at Barcelona and there was hope he would complete a permanent move to the Spanish giants but their financial struggles has meant his future is still up in the air.
The Guardian reports Cancelo features in a three-man shortlist as Al-Hilal look to reinforce their defence. The second and third players are said to be Cancelo's teammate Walker and Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong. Sports Zone add City are keen on making the transfer happen and are thought to be 'pushing' Cancelo to accept the offer.
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Elsewhere, Ilkay Gundogan's wife Sara has already made her feelings clear on a return to Manchester. City are looking to bring the midfielder back to the Etihad Stadium, 14 months after his departure to Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola is understood to have given the green light to his return as discussions were held between the club and player on Monday. It's said the German reached out to Guardiola to request to speed up the negotiations.
In an interview with the Daily Mail in February, Sara said: "When I was in Manchester, my whole life was (originally) around football. My friends were football, the people I met through my husband, and then