Manchester City have stepped up their interest in Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka.
The Premier League champions are reportedly closely monitoring developments regarding Saka’s future as he heads into the final two years of his contract at the Emirates.
Along with their biggest domestic rivals Liverpool, City have earmarked 20-year-old winger Saka as a future target.
The 20-year-old has developed into a pivotal first-teamer under Mikel Arteta. He is under contract until 2024 after signing a long-term deal in July 2020.
But Arsenal are desperately keen to tie Saka down to a longer deal after being with the club since the age of eight.
The £58.5m-rated wonderkid came through the Hale End academy and has now made 130 appearances for the club, scoring 23 goals and grabbing 28 assists.
He has also become an England regular, and he will, barring any injury, be heading to the Qatar World Cup with England later this year.
There is not thought to be any huge urgency to get Saka committed to a new deal.
Speaking to CaughtOffside in his exclusive column, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Saka feels good at Arsenal and hasn’t had any talks with other clubs.
ESPN claimed in February that Liverpool and Man City were watching Saka. While Goal’s Liverpool journalist Neil Jones also confirmed the Reds’ interest in the player.
And though any move this summer is currently considered unlikely, City have begun showing increased interest in Saka at a critical point in Arsenal’s attempts to tie him down to a long-term contract.
With the Gunners missing out on Champions League football for next season, there is a belief that the 20-year-old may put a potential new deal on the back burner, and he has previously made no secret of his desire to grace Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
“I think the Champions League creates so many special nights. And it’s a dream for me still to experience one of them and hopefully many more of them,” Saka told Sky Sports in February.
The fourteen-time England international, who turns 21 in September still has time on his side, and it will undoubtedly be a huge blow to Arteta and the Gunners faithful if he were to leave his boyhood club so soon.
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