Manchester City are ready to land another blow on their Premier League rivals by launching a bid to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar. Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have all been tracking Lemar, but City are preparing to jump to the front of the queue for the France winger.

The news, together with the fact City are expected to sign Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred, will heighten fears among those trying to keep up with City that Pep Guardiola’s side will be uncatchable for a number of years.

City tried to sign both Alexis Sánchez and Riyad Mahrez in January, as Guardiola wants another forward who can play off the flank to add to his squad.

Eden Hazard is high on Guardiola’s list of targets, but Chelsea are adamant he will not be sold to City – even for a world record fee. That is likely to result in City turning their attention to 22-year-old Lemar, who is expected to leave Monaco to the highest bidder in the summer.

Arsenal failed with a £90 million bid for Lemar last year, while Liverpool saw at least one offer turned down by the Ligue 1 club. Reports in France have claimed Liverpool are pushing to find an agreement in principle over Lemar, but no deal is thought to be close and City could blow them out of the water.