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Bony closes in on Manchester City move

Wilfried Bony has scored 34 goals in 70 games since becoming Swansea's record signing © Getty Images

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Manchester City are in talks with Swansea's Wilfried Bony as the Premier League champions make bolstering their strike-force their main priority in the transfer window.

Sources told ESPN that the Ivorian forward, 26, is wanted by coach Manuel Pellegrini and although no deal is close to being completed City view Bony, who was the Premier League's leading scorer in the calendar year of 2014, as a potential replacement for Alvaro Negredo, who left in September.

A fee has not been agreed yet but City, who are limited to a £49 million net spend in this season as a result of their punishment for breaching Financial Fair Play, have a restricted budget.

But they have at least £20m to spend, a sum that could be swelled if Scott Sinclair and Matija Nastasic are sold, and it remains to be seen how any deal for Bony, who is valued at as much as £30m, would be structured.

If City were to sign Bony, it would give them 17 players who do not qualify as homegrown, filling their quota in the Premier League but meaning they would have to omit one foreigner from their Champions League squad.

Bony, who has scored 34 goals in 70 games for Swansea since joining from Vitesse Arnhem in 2013 for a club record fee of £12m, would not be available straight away as he is in Ivory Coast's squad for January's African Nations Cup.

City manager Pellegrini has said he prefers to have four strikers in his squad and Negredo's move to Valencia left them with just three.

And last month, when Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic were all injured, City had no fit specialist centre-forward and have had to play James Milner as a "false nine" in recent games.

Liverpool and Tottenham have also been linked with Bony but it has been reported he wants to join a club in the Champions League.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd