Pranav Nair
Transfer News: Arch-rivals favourites to land Manchester United target Nuno Mendes
According to Italian transfer news publication CalcioMercato, Manchester City are leading the race to land United target Nuno Mendes.
The 18-year-old is one of the best young left-backs in European football today. His performances for Sporting Lisbon has earned him rave reviews resulting in him getting called up to the Portugal senior side for the first time.
An Under-21 international, Mendes is an extremely promising talent who is already Sporting’s first-choice left-back. He has so far made 25 appearances for them this season, scoring once and assisting two more. (h/t Transfermarkt)
A number of clubs are currently keeping tabs on him. However, it would appear that our arch-rivals City hold an advantage in the transfer race.
This is thanks to a collaboration agreement signed in 2019 with Sporting and. Moreover, they can also make use of Pedro Porro to get their man.
The 21-year-old is currently on loan at Sporting from City. The Primeira Liga side do have an option to buy which could help City land Mendes for a fee below his €70million release clause.
A move to the Premier League appears to be on the cards for Mendes. Though he has attracted attention from the likes of Italian giants such as Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli, the Serie A trio are unable to finance the deal.
As things stand, it could be a straight shootout between both the Manchester sides for the talented young star. Given his potential, it could be a bitter fight to the end to land him.
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It remains to be seen as to what the terms of the collaboration between City and Sporting are. The Portuguese giants have enjoyed a good relationship with United that has seen the latter sign a number of players.
Whether Mendes will follow in the footsteps of Bruno Fernandes and arrive at Old Trafford remains to be seen.
