Manchester City are on the verge of signing of Bacary Sagna on a free transfer from Arsenal, with the right-back to earn at least £120,000 a week. The 31-year-old is thought to have agreed a three-year deal to take him to the Premier League champions and strengthen Manuel Pellegrini’s defensive options.

The Frenchman can also play at centre-back, which given Joleon Lescott’s departure will make him of particular value to the manager. While Sagna has also filled in at left-back during his career, Pellegrini is thought to be content with Aleksandar Kolarov and Gaël Clichy, despite appearing unsure who was his first-choice during the title-winning season by rotating between the pair.

Both are expected to be retained. The Serb is likely to sign fresh terms while Clichy, as a homegrown player due to his development at Arsenal, should also continue at the club, following Uefa’s financial fair play sanctions.

Those have reduced City’s Champions League squad to only 21 for next season, while still potentially demanding eight of those players are homegrown. The governing body is yet to offer clarity on the matter.

Given Uefa has also limited City to a £49m net transfer budget for the summer, the acquisition of Sagna for no fee will cause relief at the Etihad Stadium.

City are also understood to be close to signing Porto’s Fernando for around £20m, though the move to land the midfielder’s team-mate and defender, Eliaquim Mangala, requires further work.