Manchester City eye £115million triple swoop for William Carvalho, Ryan Bertrand and Ben Gibson in the summer

MANCHESTER CITY are plotting a £60million swoop for Portugal star William Carvalho.

Boss Pep Guardiola is also eyeing Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand AND Middlesbrough skip­per Ben Gibson. But landing the trio will cost ambitious City a whopping £115MILLION.

Guardiola sees Sporting Lisbon ace Carvalho, 24, as his new midfield enforcer and is willing to smash the club’s transfer record to sign him.

Keep up to date with ALL the Manchester City news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary

The City chief feels his side have been too easily unpicked through the middle of the park this term and he believes Carvalho — who emerged as a genuine world star in Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph — is the answer.

Sporting will want £60million-plus for him in the summer, but that will not deter Guardiola, even though that will leave the futures of both Fernando and Yaya Toure unclear.

Guardiola sees former Chelsea man Bertrand and £25million-rated Boro centre-half Gibson, 24, as part of an overhaul of his defence for next season.

City know it could cost up to £30million to land Bertrand, although Saints will fight tooth and nail to keep the 27-year-old, who penned a new five-year contract only last July.

Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger said after last weekend’s EFL Cup final defeat that the club had no intention of selling key players this summer — as they have done in previous years.

Yet City still regard Bertrand as a more realistic target than Tottenham’s Danny Rose.

Guardiola would love to snatch away both Rose and Kyle Walker from White Hart Lane — but accepts Spurs will not sell.

He has been without captain Vincent Kompany for most of the season and has played left-back Aleksandar Kolarov out of position.

Gibson would add to his options and bolster the number of homegrown players in the squad.