Manchester City are reportedly lining up a £10million bid for Aston Villa's Fabian Delph, after learning of a release clause in the midfielder's contract.
Cut-price fee
The low release clause in Delph's contract was injected in January, as he signed a new five-year deal. This met the interests of both parties, as it prevented Delph from leaving on a free this summer, whilst not making it too difficult for an interested club to purchase him.
The new contract led to the likes of reportedly interested Liverpool cooling their interest in the highly-rated Delph, who has made six senior international appearances to date. However, the leaked details of the release clause has led to Manuel Pellegrini upping his interest, as he looks to seal his first summer signing.
Homegrown quota
The potential transfer examples City's intention to add English players to their squad this summer, as they look to meet the Premier League homegrown quota for the upcoming season.
When the Citizens submit their 25-man squad at the end of the transfer window, it must have no more than 17 foreign players in, with at last four having to have come though the club's youth academy and an additional four having played for an British team between the ages of 17 and 21.
City met the quota with ease last season, but their squad has taken a hit after the likes of Frank Lampard, Scott Sinclair and James Milner have all left the club.
This has seen Pellegrini target English players in the transfer window, in particular Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere.
City have so far had two bids rejected for Sterling, and are expected to come back in with a third over the next week. There has been reported interest in Delph's England teammate Wilshere of Arsenal, but no formal bid has been made yet.