Manchester City ‘keen on landing “star of the future” Nuno Mendes as Pep Guardiola looks to add to his array of mega-money full backs… but Premier League champions balk at Sporting Lisbon’s £43m price tag for wonderkid
- Man City remain interested in signing full back Nuno Mendes this summer
- The Sporting Lisbon talent, 19, has attracted interest from top European clubs
- However, City have balked at the Portuguese’s £43m price tag for the left back
- Pep Guardiola is yet to sign any fresh faces for his Premier League champions
Manchester City are reportedly interested in landing Nuno Mendes this summer, but have balked at Sporting Lisbon’s £43m price tag for the wonderkid.
The 19-year-old full back has impressed for the Portuguese champions, with his displays over 38 games in the Portuguese top flight attracting interest from a host of European clubs.
Mendes’ future has been in the air for some time, and Sporting’s move for Wolves left back Ruben Vinagre has seen the 19-year-old rumoured od a summer exit amid strong links with City.
Man City are interested in signing ‘star of the future’ Nuno Mendes from Sporting Lisbon
And according to Fabrizio Romano, City are interested in landing Mendes, who is viewed as a ‘top left back for the future’ by the Premier League champions.
However, the Manchester club have no intention of meeting Sporting’s £43m valuation of Mendes and are seeking an agreement of around £25m instead.
City have spent big on full backs under Pep Guardiola’s stewardship, spending a combined £133m on Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Joao Cancelo.
The 19-year-old has been linked with Europe’s top clubs after impressing in Portugal
However, City have reportedly balked at Sporting’s £43m price tag for the wonderkid
The club’s mega-money pursuits of Harry Kane and Jack Grealish – both valued at over £100m by Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively – means that City are unlikely to splash at big money on a full back this summer.
Mendes’ superb campaign with Sporting saw him called up by Fernando Santos for Euro 2020, although he played understudy to Raphael Guerreiro for most of Portugal’s journey.
City are yet to make any signings this summer, with Guardiola’s champions returning to pre-season training this week.