Manchester City now favourites to land Atletico Madrid star Miranda.
Manchester City have emerged as the new favourites to sign Atletico Madrid central defender Miranda, report the Mirror, with the Premier League title holders hoping to beat rivals Manchester United and Chelsea to the capture of the experienced Brazilian in what looks set to become one of the most keenly contested transfer battles of the January window.
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The 30 year-old former Sao Paulo star was one of the lynchpins of Diego Simeone’s astonishing La Liga winning side of 2013/14, forming a rock solid partnership with Uruguayan international Diego Godin at the centre of defence as they came tantalisingly close to lifting the Champions League trophy ahead of bitter rivals Real Madrid.
With central defence one of the problem areas for a number of leading Premier League clubs, it is unsurprisingly that the Brazilian has become the focus of interest from three Premier League giants, with Manchester United and Chelsea both having been heavily linked with the players in recent weeks.
City have now had Miranda scouted as a precursor to a potential January move, however, with Manuel Pellegrini potentially being convinced to move into the market for a new central defensive option as captain and defensive bedrock Vincent Kompany continues to suffer from successive injuries, curtailing his time in the team.