Man City are reportedly edging closer to agreeing a deal to sign Sporting Lisbon star Bruno Fernandes, although it’s unclear how much they are willing to spend.
The 24-year-old has been in stunning form this season, scoring 28 goals and providing 16 assists in 49 appearances for the Portuguese giants.
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As he continues to mature and develop his game, he appears to be going from strength to strength and so it’s no surprise that he has seemingly attracted attention from elsewhere.
As reported by Goal.com, via A Bola, it’s suggested that talks have been held between officials at both clubs via his agent, Jorge Mendes, and they are now ‘very close’ to reaching an agreement on moving to the reigning Premier League champions with talks ‘laying the foundations for an agreement’.
It’s added that Fernandes does have a €100m release clause, although the expectation is that City will pay a little less than that to prise him away from Sporting.
City and Pep Guardiola are undoubtedly thinking about their more immediate challenges, namely the Premier League title race with just two games to go and the FA Cup final later this month.
Should they secure both trophies, that would ensure that the Spanish tactician and his players have achieved a domestic treble, which would suggest that he has plenty of quality and depth already at his disposal to compete on multiple fronts.
However, Guardiola does have an issue in his squad and that’s a need to bring in long-term solutions in midfield, with stalwarts such as David Silva and Fernandinho not getting any younger.
Fernandes would arguably be better suited to replacing Silva, especially considering recent reports have linked the Spanish playmaker with a move to Vissel Kobe, as noted by the Daily Mail.
In turn, it could be very sensible forward planning from Guardiola and Man City, with Fernandes certainly showing his worth this season.
