Marseille are closing in on a £3.5milion deal for Manchester City defender Karim Rekik.

The French club are confident of landing the 20-year-old Holland international in the next few days, beating off competition from PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid for his services.

Rekik, who still has a year left to run on his Blues contract, is now surplus to requirements after Jason Denayer stepped ahead of him in the pecking order – the 19-year-old is expected to become their fourth central defender this summer in place of the departed Dedryck Boyata.

And he was made one of the French club’s prime targets by coach Marcelo Bielsa after helping PSV to the Dutch league title during his second season-long loan spell from City.

Marseille president Vincent Labrune actually targeted Rekik last summer, but City were not ready to sell and agreed another loan deal with PSV.

Said Labrune: “I think we have been pretty sharp, pretty good, on recruitment – we have not missed many players, except foreign players who would not come to France.

“I have spent two months of my life pursuing Karim Rekik. There is a not a team manager in the world who has harassed Karim, or football director Txiki Begiristain, as I have done.”

City are believed to have insured themselves against Rekik turning out to be a major star by asking for a buy-back clause in the contract of the player, who remains the youngest foreign player to have turned out for their first team.