Manchester City prepare £16m bid for Athletic Bilbao star Ander Herrera

The 22-year-old has been tracked for months by City and also caught the eye of rivals Manchester United during their Europa League matches against the Basque club. But City are acting swiftly in order to take pole position in the battle to sign the Spain under-21 international, who only moved to the San Mames from Real Zaragoza last summer. Herrera is one of a number of Athletic Bilbao players to be interesting Premier League clubs, alongside the likes of striker Fernando Llorente and versatile defensive midfielder Javi Martinez. A powerful box-to-box midfielder, Herrera has drawn comparisons with Steven Gerrard and City have promoted him to the top of their wish-list as they look for players who will adapt to the demands of English football. City are in the market for a central midfielder in the summerto add attacking quality to Roberto Mancini’s squad. Owen Hargreaves will leave after an injury-plagued year at the EtihadStadium, while the club do not plan to make David Pizarro’s loanmove from Roma a permanent one. Herrera played a key role in Spain’s European under-21 triumph last summer, scoring a controversial handball against England before netting in the final.