Nicolo Barella has reportedly emerged as Manchester City's number one target if Bernardo Silva leaves the club this summer.
Ilkay Gundogan has already departed for Barcelona after helping the club to a historic treble last season, and Silva's future has come into question in recent weeks.
Mateo Kovacic's arrival is expected to plug the gap left by Gundogan, and should Silva follow suit, City are expected to enter the transfer market again for another midfielder.
TuttoMercatoWeb claims that Barella is admired greatly by City, and could follow Andre Onana out the door at San Siro after he joined Manchester United.
City came up against Barella in the Champions League final when Pep Guardiola's side saw off Inter Milan 1-0 in the final.
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The report states that Guardiola is very impressed by Barella's characteristics, and would like to bring him to the club should City enter the market for a midfielder.
Despite just coming short of Champions League glory, Barella already has a long list of accolades to his name.
At club level, Barella has won the Scudetto and two Coppa Italia crowns with Inter, while also playing a pivotal role in Italy's success at Euro 2020, starting in every knockout stage encounter.
It is believed Inter could ask for a fee close to what Arsenal paid for Declan Rice, a potential stumbling block as City are already embroiled in negotiations for Josko Gvardiol, a player who could also go for a similar fee
Barella has been linked with Liverpool already this summer, but after the acquisitions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, interest from Anfield cooled.
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Silva, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with a move away from Manchester, with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain both said to be interested.
A lucrative move to Al-Hilal has swirled around the rumour mill too, with teammate Riyad Mahrez also looking likely to leave for Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Silva started the Champions League final after playing a key role in getting his side there, scoring twice in their second leg win over Real Madrid at the Etihad.
It was Silva's square ball that eventually found its way to Rodri who rifled home the only goal of the final, as the club finally clinched an elusive Champions League triumph.
Andrew Delaney
