Manchester City agree €5m deal with Red Star Belgrade for Luka and Ivan Ilić – report – City Watch

Manchester City have agreed a fee of around €5million to sign highly-rated brothers Luka Ilić, 18, and Ivan Ilić, 16, from Red Star Belgrade, Večernje Novosti reports.

City’s interest and bid for the young midfielders was reported a week ago and now a notable source in their homeland is reporting a deal is done, while the Daily Mail and ESPN say it is advanced.

The two were due to sign their Manchester City contracts either on Monday or Tuesday after undergoing medicals, and the €5million that Red Star receive for the teenagers will go a long way to helping pay off club debts.

It has been suggested that Luka and Ivan will return to Red Star on long-term loan deals to continue their development, but that will only be known after they move to the Etihad.

At the age of 16 years and 15 days, Ivan Ilić became the youngest Red Star debutant ever when he appeared against FK Spartak Subotica on April 1, breaking a record held by Luka Jović (now of Benfica). Experts in their field rate Ivan as one of Serbia’s best prospects and one of the finest talents in his age group.

Luka Ilić, the older of the brothers, actually debuted after Ivan, recently coming on as a late substitute for Red Star in their Europa League qualifier against Maltese side Floriana. Because of strong competition in his position, he is likely to find game time a challenge to come by this season.