While a chunk of Manchester City fans remain puzzled about the imminent sale of Gavin Bazunu to Southampton, it has been widely reported that the club wanted to keep hold of the gifted goalkeeper.
It was recently claimed that the Sky Blues had offered a contract extension to the Irish international.
However, the 20-year-old rejected the offer of committing his future to one of the biggest clubs in the world in favour of a move to Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side, and new details have now been revealed about how much Manchester City offered to the player to lure him into staying at the Etihad Stadium.
According to a report by Alex Crook of TalkSport, it is understood that Gavin Bazunu rejected Manchester City’s £45,000-a-week wage bump as he prioritised a move to Southampton in the summer.
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Ultimately, this stems from the starlet’s sporting ambition, as it has previously been mentioned that he finds the opportunity of becoming the number one for a Premier League club too good to turn down.
After all, the Irishman has been offered the rare chance of making the leap from playing in the League One for Portsmouth on loan to becoming the starting goalkeeper for a side plying their trade in the best league in the world in the space of a single season.
At the age of 28 - and with his long-term deal set to run out in the summer of 2026 - the excellent Ederson looks impossible for any goalkeeper in Europe to come in and displace at Manchester City.
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The Sky Blues eventually understood this as it was reported that the club decided to insert a buy-back option to initiate Gavin Bazunu’s return one day, which is claimed to be in the region of £40 million.
While it is understandable why a majority of the Manchester City fans wanted Gavin Bazunu to stay put at the Etihad Stadium, it’s clear to see that the club did everything in their power to ensure the player extends his contract instead of heading for a move elsewhere.
Topics: Manchester City, Gavin Bazunu, Premier League
Srinivas Sadhanand