United & City Set To Battle It Out For £12.5m German Midfielder

Despite the transfer window being closed there is still plenty of gossip doing the rounds in the newspapers so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest transfer rumours. Today, the two Manchester clubs eye Sven Bender.

Manchester United and Manchester City are ready to go head-to-head over the signing of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender this summer, according to talkSPORT.

United appear keen to repeat last summers triumph over City after they beat their rivals to the crucial signing of Robin van Persie from Arsenal – which many pundits point to as the defining moment of this seasons title win.

The report claims Sir Alex Ferguson is planning to further strengthen his title-winning squad at the end of the season and has identified central midfield as an area of concern – particularly as the futures of Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes remain unclear – and Dotmund’s Bender is understood to be high on his wish-list.

However, United will face stiff competition for his signature with talkSPORT suggesting City boss Roberto Mancini is also interested in the talented 23-year-old as he looks to build a squad capable of reclaiming the Premier League trophy from their bitter rivals.

Dortmund have been in superb form over the past three seasons, winning consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and are also on course for the Champions League final this season after a 4-1 victory over Real Madrid in their semi-final first leg last week.

However, their success has alerted clubs to their talented squad of youngsters and the newspaper suggests the German giants have warned United and City it will take £12.5m to land Bender at the end of the season.

Read more Man Utd transfer news | Man City transfer news

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