Manuel Locatelli won’t be signing for Man City this January

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:45 CDT
• 3 min read

Sassuolo director Giovanni Carnevali has confirmed that the club will look at bids for Man City target Manuel Locatelli in the summer, but that he won’t be going anywhere in January.

The former Milan midfielder has been in fine form for the Neroverdi in the 2020/21 season in Italy, with his recent form earning him a 90 FootballCritic Rating.

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His performances in have helped Sassuolo to seventh in Serie A, just four points off the Champions League places.

As well as Man City, he has caught the eye of Juventus and former club Milan, too, who have both been rumoured as potential suitors.

Although Carnevali admits that it is a positive thing their player has been performing to a standard that leads to elite clubs being interested, he says Locatelli is staying put this month.

“Seeing Sassuolo players in the headlines is a positive thing, as it means our team and players have been doing well to attract attention,” Carnevali told RAI Sport.

“We have many players who are of interest to many, including Locatelli, but any issue will be only discussed in January. When it comes to important players like Locatelli, we won’t even take into consideration any proposal that would involve him leaving mid-season.”

Snapshot: Manuel Locatelli

After joining the Rossoneri youth ranks from Atalanta at the age of 11, he would go on to make his debut for the club in April of 2016 against Carpi, before earning his first start on the last day of the season in a match against Roma.

Within the tenures of Vincenzo Montella and Gennaro Gattuso, he fell out of favour, which led to the Sassuolo move, initially on loan with the option to buy.

Earlier this month, Locatelli’s agent admitted that a move to Juventus could be on the cards for the Italian midfielder.