Manchester City race ahead in close chase for Marco Reus

Manchester City (5/2 to lift the Premier League) have apparently stepped up their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund talisman Marco Reus, edging their way to the front of a queue also containing domestic rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.

The German giants have been keen to rebuff and deny talk of top stars such as Reus departing the Westfalenstadion, and recently engaged in a public war of words with bitter Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich over what they believed were attempts to unsettle the star.

It is believed if forced, coach Jurgen Klopp would prefer to sell abroad, but model player Reus would be almost impossible for City to poach in January. The 25-year-old wing wizard is reported to have a £20m buy-out clause that comes into effect next summer, and is yet to sign a new deal with his hometown club, alerting the attention of Europe’s elite.

Dortmund have recently illustrated with the Robert Lewandowski transfer saga that they would prefer to hold their best players to their contracts, though, even if that means losing them for less later.

City are one of many clubs circling, but have apparently now made an official enquiry and are keeping close tabs on the situation, supposedly asking for immediate updates. The Blue half of Manchester have already witnessed their target’s talent first-hand, after Reus netted against them in a 2012 Champions League clash.

Fleet-footed Reus has been one of the Bundesliga’s brightest lights in recent seasons, and the electric attacker netted a career-best 23 goals in all competitions last campaign before cruelly missing out on a chance to represent Germany at the World Cup.

The Dortmund academy product suffered an ankle injury just before the finals in Brazil, and is currently making a slow return to first-team football. Despite his recovery issues, Reus has still managed to notch up a goal and an assist in his two Bundesliga appearances so far.

If City could snatch the much-sought after midfielder for just £20m, it would likely be one of the Premier League’s best ever bargains. With the prolific German talent in such high demand, it makes sense for the Sky Blues to curry favour with Dortmund ahead of next summer’s potential transfer wrangle.