Manchester City have received 25 million euros plus a player offer for defender Nuno Mendes rejected by Sporting CP.
The 19-year-old had a breakthrough season last time and made 29 appearances when his team secured its first league title since 2002. The left-back also broke into Portugal in 2021 and has earned five senior caps so far.
Mendes is a well-rounded defender / Gualter Fatia / Getty Images
According to the Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport Witness), Mende’s achievements have attracted the attention of the Premier League champions. City have offered 25 million euros in cash plus a player of Sporting’s choice, but their bid was quickly rejected.
Lions value Mendes at € 50 million and clearly do not feel that the shortlist of players they have been offered could be the shortcoming. However, the city’s interest seems genuine, so we can expect them to present a new bid in the not-so-distant future.
Although Sporting will be keen to retain one of their first team players, it may prove difficult if interest remains. It is possible that Mendes can be loaned back to his current club when City have completed the swoop.
There is potential for this to be a transition window at the Etihad Stadium. Full-time leading scorer Sergio Aguero and young defender Eric Garcia have both joined Barcelona on free transfers and can be followed by other high-profile names.
Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva are among those linked to exits this summer and they can be moved on to finance City’s other transfer operations.
Manchester City are interested in getting Nuno Mendes. He is considered a left-back for the future – but the city council has no intention of paying as much as 50 million euros to Sporting. ??? #MCFC
Sporting does not accept a proposal of around EUR 30 million as of today. The race is still open.
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 19, 2021
That could include the launch of a Premier League record bid for Aston Villa and England star Jack Grealish. They also seem to need a new striker to replace Aguero, although Guardiola recently made the sensational claim that the club could not afford one. In the past, they have been strongly linked to Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
