Man City want to sign Andres Iniesta as FC Barcelona chase Cesc Fabregas

Manchester City are reportedly preparing to try and sign Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta this summer in a £55million deal

City are set to spend big in the transfer market this summer after qualifying for the Champions League.
And after recently being linked with a big money move for his Barca and Spain team-mate Xavi, the Eastlands outfit are ready to make a move for 27-year-old Iniesta, according to Caughtoffside.com.

Mancini held talks with City's owners over the weekend to discuss summer transfer budgets, with the Italian looking to be backed by his employers in the transfer market.

But City are likely to insist that several high wage-earners are sold before expensive signings are made in order to meet UEFA's new financial fair play rules.

That will likely mean the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips are offloaded in order to reduce the wage bill and free up funds to attract new players to Eastlands.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Inter Milan forward Samuel Eto'o and Tottenham winger Gareth Bale are already believed to be on Mancini's summer shopping list, while Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has also been linked with a move to Manchester.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is unlikely to want to part with Iniesta, but as would be the case with any bid that was made for Xavi, it would make room in the squad for the Spanish champions to make a move for Fabregas.

Guardiola has made it his top priority to bring Fabregas to Camp Nou this summer and according to reports in Spain recently has already met with the midfielder's family.

Reports over whether or not Arsenal will sell have been conflicting in recent months, however it is widely expected that Arsene Wenger will reluctantly let his skipper leave should he force the issue and should a bid of around £35million be made.