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According to Calciomercato,  Juventus are set to make a concrete move to sign Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who has previously attracted the interest of Manchester City.

What's the word, then?

The young Frenchman has been one of the best in his position in the current campaign, earning rave reviews for his performances in Ligue 1 and the Champions League in a defensive midfield role.

22-year-old Ndombele has gone up against City twice already this season in the Champions League, and has also gone head to head with Barcelona, coming out smelling of roses in all of those games with some classy performances.

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Arguably Lyon's biggest prospect, club president Jean-Michel Aulas has demanded between €75m and €80m for the powerful midfield presence, who is displaying an unerring level of maturity and knowledge of his position for a player so young.

City must beat Juventus to ideal Fernandinho replacement

It is no secret that the Citizens are keen to find a long-term heir to Fernandinho's throne in the defensive midfield position - they have already identified him as their No.1 target.

Pep Guardiola has attempted to bring Jorginho to the Etihad, and then Frenkie de Jong after him, but has lost out to both Chelsea and Barcelona for each player respectively as he looks to find a replacement for the ageing Brazilian.

Having lost out on those two, Guardiola cannot allow Juventus to steal in and take Ndombele away from them, all whilst 33-year-old Fernandinho gets older - the former Shakhtar man is the only player of his kind that City have, and another must be signed immediately.

In Ndombele, City have a player in their sights who they simply cannot lose out on. He is quick, strong, an excellent dribbler of the ball and has a wonderful range of passing from deep, and would slot into Fernandinho's role ahead of the back four perfectly.

Additionally, the reigning Premier League champions should be more enthused to sign the Frenchman as a result of them being investigated by FIFA for alleged financial fair play wrongdoing.

Chelsea were recently handed a transfer ban for the next two windows, so City should ensure they bring Ndombele to the Etihad as soon as possible, just in case they face the same sanctions.