Manchester City agree £44.5m deal to sign Manchester United target Fred

Manchester City have reportedly agreed a £44.5m deal to sign Brazil international Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, according to Goal.

The Premier League leaders, who host Leicester City at the King Power Stadium this evening (17:30), have been strongly linked with luring the Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

The 24-year-old, who has six international caps for his country, has scored two goals and provided four assists in 24 appearances in all competitions for the Premier Liga outfit so far this season.

Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus in action with Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred (left).

Better known as ‘Fred’, the player joined Shakhtar back in June 2013 following his reported €15m move from Internacional, and has netted 13 goals in 142 games overall for the Ukrainian side.

Despite reported interest from arch rivals Manchester United in the Samba star, the report claims City have won the race for Fred, agreeing a £44.5m deal with Shakhtar for the central midfielder’s services at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

Written by Dan Church Follow @DJChurch94