Man City Reach Agreement With Serie A Side Over Permanent Transfer of Midfielder

Writing on Twitter, Fabrizio Romano revealed that, as per fellow Italian journalist Matteo Moretto, Ivan Ilic will be joining Hellas Verona on a permanent transfer this summer.

The 'done deal' will earn the Premier League champions an initial fee of €7.5 million with the possibility of future add-ons - a sum that many will be hoping will go towards funding a transfer for Aston Villa's Jack Grealish.

Interestingly, there is no buy-back clause in the deal, which suggests that the Manchester City hierarchy do not consider Ivan Ilic to be a player likely to progress to the highest level.

Ilic signed for Manchester City in 2017, having earned a reputation as one of Europe's best prospects, becoming the youngest ever player to feature for Red Star Belgrade.

Initially, Ivan Ilic remained with Red Star Belgrade until 2019, and since then, the Serb has enjoyed loan spells at NAC Breda and Hellas Verona.

The midfielder has continued to progress in his career, making 31 appearances and scoring three goals in all competitions last season, as he helped Hellas achieve a credible 10th-placed finish in Serie A.

Ilic's progress was enough to earn two senior international appearances for Serbia's first-team this year. 

Recently, it was reported that a loan deal was the most likely option on the table for Ilic; however, Manchester City have evidently opted to cash in on the youngster.

With Manchester City in the market for a midfielder, and promising youngsters such as Romeo Lavia and Tommy Doyle already on the books, the prospects of Ilic breaking into the first-team was always unlikely.