Manchester City deny £78m bid for Atletico defender

 

Manchester City have not had a £78m bid for Jose Gimenez rejected contrary to what Atletico Madrid's president has claimed, reports The Independent.

 

Atletico chief, Enrique Cerezo, sensationally revelaed on Wednesday they had turned down an offer from City to make Gimenez one of the most expensive defenders of all time.

 

While Pep Guardiola's side are on the market for a new elite centre-back, the Premier League outfit are surprised by Cerezo's outburst.

 

Gimenez is one of several targets on City's radar but they insist they have not made an official bid for the 25-year-old and will not spend that sort of money on any player in this window.

 

City reportedly had a significant offer for Sevilla's Jules Kounde rejected at the start of the week and remain heavily linked with a move for Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly.

 

The Senegal international is certainly the most obtainable target, as Napoli have made it clear they want to offload the 29-year-old, but City are not overly keen on dealing with the Serie A outfit.

 

 

City have reportedly agreed personal terms with Koulibaly but hold a grudge over Napoli with the way they dealt with Jorginho's transfer to Chelsea back in 2018.

 

Gimenez, meanwhile, has spent the last seven years at Atletico and is considered one of the best defenders in Europe.

 

However, injury problems in the past have seen Gimenez start more than 20 league games in a single campaign just once in the last six seasons.