Manchester City agree initial £43m fee with Napoli for Jorginho

Manchester City are close to completing the signing of Jorginho after agreeing an initial fee of €49m (£43m) with Napoli for the Italy midfielder.

After weeks of negotiations with their Napoli counterparts over the Brazil-born 26-year-old City finally made a breakthrough this week and are now hopeful of finalising the deal in the next few days.

Reports in Italy claimed Jorginho and his agent arrived in London on Wednesday, with further meetings scheduled to discuss bonuses, which could total up to £5m.

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He is expected to sign a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium and become City’s first signing of the summer.

Having identified Jorginho as his preferred midfield target to replace the departed Yaya Touré, Pep Guardiola will be delighted to get his man despite the protracted negotiations with Napoli.

He moved to Italy as a teenager and has made more than 130 appearances for Napoli since his move from Verona in 2014. He has now made eight international appearances for Italy after making his debut in 2016.

Napoli have already acted to replace him, with Fabián Ruiz set to join from Real Betis for €30m.

City also remain hopeful of completing a deal for Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez after their failed move for him in January. Negotiations are continuing, although Leicester’s £20m purchase of James Maddison from Norwich could smooth the way for the Algeria international’s departure.