Man City have had a £44.5m bid for Monaco defender Benjamin Mendy rejected by the French champions.
According to the Daily Mail, Monaco are demanding that City must pay at least the £54m that Tottenham received for Kyle Walker last week.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola must now decide whether to press ahead with the transfer, in the knowledge that Chelsea are waiting in the wings with their own potential move for Mendy.
Monaco have already lost Bernardo Silva to Man City, and last week Timoue Bakayoko made his move to Chelsea. PSG’s move for Neymar is likely to bring renewed in interest in coveted teenager Kylian Mbappe, and the Monaco board are seemingly in no mood to let their players leave for anything but their asking price.
Chelsea have been tracking Juventus’ Alex Sandro all summer, but with the Italian champions having just sold Leonardo Bonucci to rivals AC Milan, are unlikely to let the Brazilian leave for less that £61m.
Monaco are unlikely to budge on their valuation of Mendy given he is four years younger than Walker, recently won the league and is experienced in Champions League football.
The 23-year-old has been a long-term target for manager Pep Guardiola, who did not travel to Switzerland with the Monaco squad for their pre-season schedule.