Manchester City are set to join the hunt for Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic. The player has informed his current club that he sees his future away from the German champions and would like to be allowed to leave, according to The Metro.
The same source quotes the forward as telling Croatian newspaper Sportske Novisti that he does not feel like he can play to the best of his ability under Pep Guardiola, stating:
“I met with [Bayern chairman] Karl Heinz Rummenigge before the cup final and told him I wanted to leave the club.
“I’ve had a fantastic time at Bayern. It’s a great club and I never thought I’d want to leave, and especially not at this point in time. But, let’s be honest, I cannot play to my strengths under Guardiola’s style – no matter how hard I try.”
Although City have a wealth of talent in their attacking line The Manchester Evening News reports that Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko have both been linked with moves away for the Etihad Stadium. A move for Mandzukic would therefore give the club the ability to offload one of those two strikers without weakening their side or squad depth.
Despite his desire to leave Bayern he still managed to score 18 goals in 30 league appearances, while also netting in The Champions League and other cup competitions.
Manchester City will have a hard job securing his signature however. The Metro also indicates that their neighbours Manchester United are interested along with both Chelsea and Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho will no doubt want to add to his forward line after disappointing seasons from Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and the departure of Samuel Eto’o.
Arsenal want to provide backup to Olivier Giroud and new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will likely want to stamp his own mark on the Old Trafford outfit, with Mandzukic able to provide plenty of quality up front. Nathan Gibson
