Manchester City chase Jorginho transfer but delays spark fear of Chelsea joining tug-of-war for midfielder

Manchester City's hopes of avoiding a bidding war over transfer target Jorginho are decreasing by the day as the midfielder's club, Napoli, stall over an asking price.

Pep Guardiola wants to strengthen his midfield, finding a long-term replacement for Yaya Toure and, eventually, Fernandinho this off-season. Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund and Fred of Shakhtar Donetsk were both players considered, with City even lodging a bid for Fred in January, but their thinking has changed in the spring and Jorginho, a Brazilian-born Italy international, is now their first choice. Fred is expected to join cross-town rivals United.

City hoped to get a deal done swiftly after the end of the season to give their new signing time to learn about Guardiola's technical expectations but Napoli have postponed a meeting with Jorginho's agent, Joao Santos, until later this week.

Santos is on the record previously as saying that should City agree a fee with the Neapolitan club then they will get their man, with outline personal terms understood to have been agreed. And yet every day that passes makes the deal more likely to be hijacked, with former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri known to be interested in taking over at Chelsea.

Should Sarri be installed at Stamford Bridge then sources in Italy say Napoli have visions of a Premier League tug-of-war increasing Jorginho's price, something City are understandably keen to avoid.

City will hope that this week produces a breakthrough with regards to the terms of a potential deal for Jorginho, and they are also in the market for a wide forward after seeing a deal for Riyad Mahrez fall through in the winter transfer window.

Guardiola has also given his blessing in the pursuit of Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey and, ambitiously, Paris Saint-Germain's on-loan star Kylian Mbappé, but a deal for Mbappé would rely on PSG encountering significant Financial Fair Play issues and remains incredibly unlikely.