Manchester City ready to offload Yaya Touré in clearout and target youth influx

Manchester City will consider serious offers for Yaya Touré this summer in a planned clearout that will put many of the champions’ biggest names in danger, with the club targeting an influx of young players headed by Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne to revamp an ageing squad.

City’s 1-0 defeat at Barcelona on Wednesday that knocked them out of the Champions League last 16, 3-1 on aggregate, has confirmed to the hierarchy a major overhaul is required.

Of the XI who started at the Camp Nou only Sergio Agüero, who is 26, was under 27. While Agüero, Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho and David Silva have long-term futures at City, the rest of that team are potentially vulnerable.

This means Touré, Bacary Sagna, Martín Demichelis, Aleksandar Kolarov, Samir Nasri and James Milner (whose contract expires in the close season) face uncertainty. Of those players who did not start in Catalonia, Gaël Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta, Jesús Navas, Fernando, Stevan Jovetic and Edin Džeko may also be expendable. Frank Lampard is finally leaving to join New York City FC.

Touré is wanted by his former City manager Roberto Mancini, who is in charge of Internazionale. The City executive are aware of Mancini’s interest in taking the Ivorian but whether the Italian club have the finance to buy Touré and match his considerable salary is in the balance.

Although Touré turns 32 in May he still has two years remaining on his contract so City would want a fee in the region of £20m. The midfielder is the club’s best-paid player, receiving at least £220,000 a week.

Touré’s relationship with the club has previously been fractious, with last summer’s disagreement over how his birthday was marked one of a number of difficult moments between player and club.

If Internazionale were able to source the funds then the executive may decide to let Touré go, who would be minded to rejoin Mancini.

One potential way of financing the deal could be via sponsors.

Last week Mancini said: “Yaya has played in every top league, apart from Germany and Italy. If, as it seems, he wants to have an experience in Italy, then there is this possibility he could come here. It won’t be easy but he’s a player with incredible technique and character. Would Inter be his first choice? That’s certain.”

City are keen on De Bruyne, a former Chelsea midfielder who was sold to Wolfsburg for £18m. He has scored nine goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances for a Wolfsburg side nine points clear in second place. At 23 and as an established Belgium international, De Bruyne fits the profile wanted by City in their drive to lower the age of the squad.

Ayoze Pérez, the 21-year-old Newcastle United striker, is also on City’s radar. At the weekend John Carver, the Newcastle manager, claimed he had “a good chat with Brian Kidd [assistant manager] at Man City about him”.

With Džeko having disappointed since signing a new deal last year and Jovetic unhappy at being left out of the Champions League squad for the knockout phase, the hope if either of these were to leave would be that if Pérez were acquired his potential could complement Agüero and Wilfried Bony, the established strikers