Manchester City to demand near world record fee for Real Madrid transfer target Sergio Aguero

Pep Guardiola would only countenance selling the forward for a fee to rival what Real Madird paid for Gareth Bale, or the £89.3 million Manchester United spent on Paul Pogba

Real Madrid are leading the chase for Aguero (Getty)

Manchester City expect a number of European clubs to bid for Sergio Aguero this summer but will only let the player leave for a near world record transfer fee, according to reports.

City have been adamant that they do not want to sell the 28-year-old, who has scored 156 goals in 237 appearances for the club.

But the striker has been unsettled by the arrival of the talented Gabriel Jesus, who briefly took his place in the first-team before breaking a metatarsal in his right foot, and has yet to convince the notoriously demanding Pep Guardiola that he is mobile enough to be used as his sole striker next season.

City will demand a fee close to the £89.3 million Juventus sold Paul Pogba for, according to the Manchester Evening News. Real Madrid are currently believed to be leading the race for the player's signature.

The fact that so many European clubs are clamouring for Aguero has given City hope that they can instigate something of a bidding war, with the Argentine in the peak of his career and widely regarded as one of the finest strikers in the world.

Guardiola recently admitted that Aguero was the subject of interest from numerous European clubs but insisted that he remained an “important player” for the club.

“It was the same in Barcelona and Bayern with so many. So that is going to happen in the future,” Guardiola said ahead of the club's FA Cup fifth-round replay against Huddersfield. “The club is clear. We are clear.

“In the last games at Huddersfield, for example, I know exactly from the difficulty of the pitch how hard he fights - and the game against Monaco as well.

“He is an important player for us. He was in the past when he played regularly and then there were two or three games when he didn’t play and he was (still) important.

“He will continue to be important.”