Inter rejected January bid from Manchester City for Colombian defender – report

Manchester City made no major signings in January, but there were indications that a centre-back was considered, one of them Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk and also Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber, who eventually joined Schalke 04 on loan.

According to the number one Inter fan website, FcInterNews.it, there was another defender on Pep Guardiola’s radar, and that was Colombian international Jeison Murillo.

FcIN claims that an offer arrived for the 24-year-old in January from City, asking for Murillo on a ‘dry loan’ (no option to buy) for the rest of the 2016-17 season. Murillo would have been a temporary solution ahead of someone more permanent arriving in the summer.

Inter were not impressed by this offer, particularly as they rate Murillo highly, and turned down the approach. The Nerazzurri are now looking into extending Murillo’s contract to secure his future at the San Siro.

Despite various links with centre-backs, City eventually settled on current options in January, possibly influenced by the return of Vincent Kompany from injury and overall signs of improvement in performances.