Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is targeting a move for a talented youngster from the continent; however, he will face high-profile competition for his signature, according to a report.

Manchester City news: Grealish injury, Phillips transfer update

Cited by The Daily Mail, Manchester City winger Jack Grealish has revealed that he suffered a huge haematoma on his thigh that left him unable to walk for a period of time following the 2-1 victory over Sheffield United in late August.

Speaking about the ordeal, Grealish stated: "You have little ones that are there for two to three days — but if you get a dead leg and you have the haematoma, a bad one, it’s around six centimetres. Mine was like 20 centimetres. Our doctor said it’s the worst dead leg he’s ever seen, by a mile."

He then added: "It wasn’t even bad, the tackle. It was Oli McBurnie. If I showed you the tackle now, you’d be like, “Get up”. But the pain…honestly! After the game it was sore. But when I was on the coach, I was like, I need something here. I went to walk off the coach back into the training ground at City and I genuinely could not walk. I couldn’t bend my leg. I had to get crutches."

Meanwhile, according to a Manchester City transfer update from The Sun, midfielder Kalvin Phillips could be offered a shock escape route from the Premier League champions, with Bayern Munich believed to be keen on the England international.

Thomas Tuchel is reportedly eyeing a move for the out-of-favour 27-year-old, who has been sparingly used by Guardiola this term despite Rodri's recent suspension from playing action. Bayern Munich are keeping tabs on his situation and a similar arrangement to that of Joao Cancelo, who went on loan from Manchester City to the Bundesliga champions in January, isn't said to be out of the question.

Kalvin Phillips' time at Manchester City in numbers

Appearances (Transfermarkt)

Goals

Assists

26

0

0

WhoScored average match rating (2023/24) – Premier League: 6.24/10

Notable statistics (2023/24)

90% pass success rate, average passes (16.7 per fixture), 1.3 accurate long balls per game

Manchester City transfer news – Arthur Vermeeren

Recently, a report claimed that the Blues have made their first move to try and bring in Royal Antwerp midfielder Arthur Vermeeren by making contact with his current employers and enquiring about his availability. Vermeeren has previously been hailed "one of the most complete young midfielders in Europe" by Football Talent Scout – Jacek Kulig.

The outlet indicate that competition is fierce for the 18-year-old, with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus all believed to be circling for the Belgium Under-21 cap.

Starting the 2023/24 campaign in sparkling form, Vermeeren has racked up one goal and five assists in his opening 15 appearances for Royal Antwerp across all competitions (Vermeeren's statistics – Transfermarkt).

In the Jupiler Pro League, the Lier-born man has gained an average Sofascore match rating of 7.45/10 this season for his exploits, which will explain why Manchester City boss Guardiola is keen to strengthen his midfield with the addition of Vermeeren.