Man City preparing £52m deal for Sporting Lisbon wonderkid Mendes
Manchester City plot another costly defensive signing as Pep Guardiola prepares £52m deal for Sporting Lisbon wonderkid Nuno Mendes… with Portuguese side wanting more than the initial £47m Man United paid for Bruno Fernandes
- Manchester City are interested in a summer move for Sporting’s Nuno Mendes
- The highly-rated left back has been superb for the Portuguese side this season
- Sporting want more than the club-record fee they received for Bruno Fernandes
- City are willing to pay a total sum of £52million to secure Mendes’ signature
Manchester City are plotting another expensive defensive signing this summer with a £52million move for Sporting Lisbon’s Nuno Mendes.
Mendes, an 18-year-old left back, has become a crucial part of the Sporting side this season and has made 34 appearances in all competitions as they ended a 19-year wait for the Portuguese title.
Sportsmail understands City have already made initial contact with Mendes’ agent, Miguel Pinho, who also represents Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.
Manchester City are plotting a £52m move for Sporting Lisbon’s young defender Nuno Mendes
City have already made initial contact with Mendes’ agent, Miguel Pinho over a summer switch
During those talks, City wanted to discover if Sporting are open to selling Mendes this summer but the Portuguese side are only willing to sell if the Premier League champions pay a club-record fee.
United midfielder Fernandes currently holds that record after he left Sporting for Old Trafford in January 2020 for an initial fee of £46.6m.
In that first meeting, which took place two weeks ago, Sporting did not give City any sort of concrete figure but insisted they intend to break the club’s transfer record with Mendes.
Sporting are also wishing to wait until Portugal manager Fernando Santos names his squad for Euro 2020 in the hope that Mendes will be included and his value may rise if he performs well this summer.
However, a Sporting source told Sportsmail that club president Frederico Varandas is willing to play hardball and will only let Mendes go if City pay his €70m (£60m) release clause.
Mendes has become a key part of the Sporting side this season and has made 34 appearances
City want to offer £44.3m plus Pedro Porro, who is out on loan at Sporting for two seasons.
But City are thought to be someway off that in terms of their valuation of the player and are planning to offer a total package of €60m (£51.6m).
That includes a £44.3m initial fee plus young Spanish defender Pedro Porro, who is out on loan at Sporting for two seasons.
The Spanish right back, who also has interest from Napoli, went out on a two-year loan to Sporting at the start of this season and has made 37 appearances in all competitions.
The Portuguese side are desperate to keep Porro beyond 2022 but are not willing to include him in a deal for Mendes.
Sporting, who were crowned Portuguese champions for the first time since 2002 on Tuesday, want separate negotiations.
Sporting want a club-record fee, which is held by Bruno Fernandes after he left for Old Trafford in 2020 for an initial fee of £46.6m
City are yet to make a formal offer for Mendes but it is thought they will make one in the coming weeks with Pep Guardiola a huge admirer. Mendes is also keen on a move to England.
The Champions League finalists are preparing a five-year contract for Mendes worth €2.5m (£2.1m) per year.
That would see Mendes’ currently salary increase six-fold.
The left back position has been a problem for Guardiola ever since he arrived at City with Benjamin Mendy struggling with fitness issues and Oleksandr Zinchenko converting from midfield.
Right back Joao Cancelo has played there at times, as has centre back Aymeric Laporte, but the signing of Mendes would bring a long-term solution to the position.
Guardiola has brought a number of expensive signings into his defence during his tenure as City boss with Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake arriving last summer for over £100m.
Cancelo cost £55m in 2019 while Laporte, Mendy, Kyle Walker and Danilo joined for a combined cost of £190m in 2017/18.
John Stones was bought in during Guardiola’s first season in charge for £47.5m.
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