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Sevilla have confirmed to Record Sport Online that they expect to lose their player of the season so far Steven N'Zonzi to either Manchester City or Juventus for €30m.

The reigning Europa League holders who face English Champions Leicester in the Champions League knockout round want to renew the Frenchman's deal and make him their best-paid player.

However La Liga 's third-placed club are aware that the penalty for having bought the brilliant organising midfielder for just £7m, because he only had one year left on his Stoke contract in summer 2015, meant that they could only impose a low buyout clause in his contract. Leaving them vulnerable.

(Image: Getty)

N'Zonzi can be bought right out of his current deal, without Sevilla being able to prevent it, for any club willing to pay the £25.6m set price.

Juventus have led the way as they are cash rich and in search of the kind of height, power, passing, experience package which they lost when Paul Pogba went for a world record fee to Manchester United.

But N'Zonzi's form for Sevilla has been so good that City are now in the running - particularly as the 27-year-old 6'3" 'pivote' midfielder has been excelling for Pep Guardiola's closest friend in football Juanma Lillo who's assistant coach to Jorge Sampaoli.

City's plan was not to re-stock in this winter market unless there was an absolute imperative.

(Image: Steve Bond/Pinnacle)

Whether the loss of Ilkay Gündogan, whose cruciate ligament damage required surgery and almost certainly means he'll not play again this season, alters that strategy hasn't yet been made clear by Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain or City.

The former Stoke and Blackburn midfielder has produced by far the best and most authoritative football of his career at Sevilla since Guardiola-disciple Sampaoli took over in the summer.

While his statistics are first rate it's his playing style and intelligence which are most attractive to City under their current coach.

N'Zonzi wins and uses the ball in a manner which is almost identical to Sergio Busquets at Barcelona, the player Guardiola would most like to own but whose availability was ended when he renewed for the Spanish champions in September.

Also in his favour is that physically, and in terms of his ability to dribble, break lines and push forward in search of goals and assists, N'Zonzi is also from the Yaya Touré mould of midfielders - except that he's five years younger and on a stratospherically lower salary.

(Image: Getty Images)

In La Liga the Frenchman's stats which most attract a team under Guardiola's philosophy are that he's made 1100 passes this season with a 90 per cent success rate.

Sampaoli, like Guardiola, puts an extremely high priority on passing-possession-pressing and another N'Zonzi stand-out detail is that in winning the ball back 102 times in La Liga this season the Parisian has only committed 15 fouls and been booked three times.

His stats for goals (2), passes, fouls, bookings and accuracy are all higher than Fernandinho, the City midfielder in whom Guardiola has by far the most faith this season.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

In the Champions League N'Zonzi has twice been man of the match as Los Rojiblancos went through to the knockout stage for the first time since 2010 and only the third time in their history.

He scored once, had a 91 per cent accuracy rate in over 500 passes and won possession back 27 times.

Sevilla will try, using their huge income from previous transfer profits and the powerful war-chest gained via Uefa money for winning three straight Europa Leagues and now making the Champions League last sixteen, to persuade their brilliant midfielder to stay as their team leader and highest-ever salary earner. At worst, they've asked him to commit to staying until the end of the season and the next transfer market.

But their briefing to Record Sport Online is that if Juve or City activate the buyout clause it will directly lead to a salary offer which they can't match.

City had Patrick Vieira studying Sampaoli's coaching sessions and matches in Sevilla during November and the ex France and Arsenal legend, whose abilities N'Zonzi's game evokes, was able to report positively on the player.

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Much though he admires Vieira, N'Zonzi reveals that his style was more based on Real Madrid and Chelsea star Claude Makélélé.

He said: "Patrick won the lot during his career and I've only got the Europa League to my name after last season's win over Liverpool - but the guy who I modeled my ideas about midfield on was Claude.

"I particularly liked studying him when he was at Real Madrid surrounded by superstars like Figo Raúl, Ronaldo and Zidane.

"Makélélé was the best for me because of how he closed up the spaces left by these superstars with his clever understanding of positioning.

"This season under Sampaoli I've loved the fact that I'm the single organising player in front of the defence and I'm on the ball much much more.

(Image: Handout)

"I've got more space, more liberty, more decision making and more responsibility.

"I enjoy my football more that way".

City's acid-test is whether they steal a march on Juventus and buy NZonzi now, even though he'd be ineligible for the Champions League knockout rounds, and attempt to use his remarkable form and technique to close the gap on Chelsea at the top.

Right now the Frenchman's form is such that it could be a key decision in determining whether or not Guardiola's first season is garlanded with the Premier League title.