Manchester City Plot £17m Bid for Former Chelsea Winger – Report

Manchester City may have sacked manager Roberto Mancini but that has not stopped the club from identifying transfer targets for next season as they are linked with a move for Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben.

The former Chelsea midfielder has been instrumental in helping Bayern claim yet another Bundesliga title and has played a huge role in the club reaching the final of the Champions League. Yet despite an impressive season there is a suggestion that he is not in the plans of new manager Pep Guardiola.

Spanish newspaper Sport suggest that Guardiola has made it clear that he will allow Robben to leave in the summer, news that has apparently alerted Manchester City who are ready to sanction a £17m bid for the winger.

City are preparing for a busy summer as they look to appoint a new manager and bring in a number of players so that they can build a squad capable of wrestling the title back from Manchester United.

Director of football Txiki Begiristain will play a huge role in identifying possible transfer targets and it seems they believe Robben would be a perfect addition.

The 28 year old has won the league title in four different countries and enjoyed huge success during his time in England where he helped Chelsea win the Premier League on two occasions, the FA Cup, and the League Cup twice.

Having won the league with Real Madrid he has since excelled at Bayern Munich but it seems his four year spell in Germany could come to an end in the summer.

With Mario Goetze arriving for next season, Robben is deemed surplus to requirements and Manchester City will have to compete with Galatasaray and Juventus to secure the winger's signature.

City know that this will be a vitally important summer with Manchester United going through a summer of transition after Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down, while Chelsea are also expected to appoint a new manager at the end of the season.

Yesterday City were linked with Napoli striker Edison Cavani and Malaga midfielder Isco, while a deal for Robben could see their spending go close to £100m this summer.

After a season without a trophy they will be desperate to respond in the next campaign as they look to reclaim their Premier League crown and navigate their way past the group stage of the Champions League.