‘Gabriel Jesus very close to City’

City have offered €32m (£26.8m) but Gabriel could be swayed after speaking to Pep Guardiola and has already rejected Barcelona.

The agent of Inter target Gabriel Jesus confirms talks are “very advanced” with Manchester City.

However, the Citizens will now face competition from their local rivals.

He was due to play for Brazil at the Copa America last month only to miss out because of visa problems. However, he was forced to withdraw due to the lack of a United States visa. This has angered the Brazilian outfit’s manager Cuca.

United and City are not the only clubs interested in signing Jesus.

With him, Manchester City will have some of the most unsafe attackers in European football in Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero, David Silva or Raheem Sterling.

The 19-year-old striker, dubbed the “next Neymar” by many and backed by Ronaldo to be a future superstar, has also received interest from Manchester City throughout the summer.

Moreover, Guardiola’s “method” of calling players under contract has begun to “disturb” Europe’s elite clubs, with the Premier League’s lucrative television-rights deal also a contributing factor. “I’m a fan of Gabriel as I look at him and see myself when I was younger”, Ronaldo told Globo TV.

Even if a deal is struck before the close of the transfer window on August 31, Gabriel is likely to remain at Palmeiras until the end of the Brazilian Serie A season in December.