It has emerged that Man City striker Alvaro Negredo broke his metatarsal during pre-season but this will not tempt manager Manuel Pellegrini to look for a replacement in Isco.
According to reports, City’s summer spending will stop once they have completed the transfer of Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala for £32m.
Negredo will be sidelined at the Etihad for at least two months after suffering the injury during City’s friendly victory at Hearts nine days ago.
And with fellow strikers Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic also having a handful of injury problems, there were fresh suggestions from Spain that City could be tempted into targeting Isco.
The champions lost out to Real Madrid last summer when they made a £25m move for the highly sought after attacking midfielder. However Real may now feel that Isco’s services will be less required now with the arrival of Colombian star James Rodriguez from Monaco.
Pellegrini is still an admirer of the player he nurtured as a teenager on the Costa del Sol but, after being on the verge of signing Mangala, which would add to other summer signings Fernando,Willy Caballero and Bacary Sagna, City will end their activity in the window for this summer.
A City source said: “Unless there is another injury to another key player, then Mangala will be the final addition to our squad in this transfer window.”
By Phil Wellbrook