Juventus Prepare Bid for City Defender - Report

Juventus are considering a £6.5m bid for Manchester City left back Aleksandar Kolarav, according to talkSport. The bid is for less than half the £17m the Premier League champions paid Serie A club Lazio two years ago.

Kolarov has not clearly established himself as first choice at the Etihad but has not been ignored either. The Serbian has made seven Premier League starts, although French international Gael Clichy was the preferred choice in European competition; Clichy has 10 league starts.

Nevertheless, City are believed to value Kolarov highly, as it seems does Roberto Mancini himself, and the English club will expect full value for their player, should the Serie A champions' bid be made formally. The Turin-based club, meanwhile, will gamble on Kolarov's unhappiness at not being first choice - and will certainly look to stress he will be that at the Juventus Stadium.

The Bianconieri's manager, Antonio Conte, has only Italian Paolo De Ceglie in that position. The club did have World Cup winner Fabio Grosso but considering the former Inter defender is now 35 years old, Conte is probably more interested in signing players for the future.

Kolarov was also linked, by the Daily Mail, to Juventus' domestic rival Inter Milan in the summer.

Real Betis Midfielder on City Radar

Meanwhile, a second talkSport report suggests City are interested in Betis midfielder Benat Etxebarria. The 25 year old Basque has a release fee of £17m in his contract with the La Liga club, which should be well within the Etihad club's budgets.

"We want Benat to continue with us, but if someone pays the clause we cannot do anything," the Spanish club's president, Rafael Gordillo, admitted.

City did sign Real Madrid youth product Javi Garcia from Portuguese club Benfica and young Englishman Jack Rodwell from Everton in the summer. However, Mancini reportedly feels the champions missed out on key targets at the start of the season and believes Extebarria's arrival could go some way in alleviating a lack of options in the squad.

City Youngster Interests Sunderland

Finally, The Sun reports City's 20 year old Swedish striker, John Guidetti, is a transfer target for both the Black Cats and Serie A club Palermo. The youth academy product impressed while on loan with Dutch club Feyenoord last season, scoring 20 goals from 23 appearances for the club.