Manchester City have made an approach for the signing of the Fluminense starlet João Pedro, according to claims from Brazil on Wednesday.
UOL reports the Premier League champions wanted to know details of the clause which would allow them to hijack the deal that Watford have to sign the youngster.
As recently reported by the Brazilian media, there’s a clause in the contract which cancels the move if €20m is paid to the Hornets as compensation.
It’s claimed that João Pedro has impressed Pep Guardiola’s side, who had informal talks with his staff and drafted a project for his future. They also checked his background, and liked what they saw.
But Watford fans will be glad to hear that Manchester City’s approach wasn’t very convincing. Especially because their idea would be to loan João Pedro out to Girona, something the player doesn’t want.
UOL claims that there’s confidence João Pedro can have some immediate success at Watford, just like Richarlison, who also made the move from Fluminense and now keeps contact with the 17-year-old.
According to people close to João Pedro, the deal with Watford should ‘be honoured’. His family travelled to check out the club’s facilities this month and were happy to be welcomed by Gino Pozzo.
UOL says that Watford players normally don’t see Pozzo more than once a year, and his presence was seen as a sign of ‘prestige’.
It’s claimed that Pozzo has talked about his experience with young Brazilians, using Zico’s time at Udinese as an example. UOL also points out that Richarlison had the help of one of Pozzo’s assistants, Lorenzo, during his time at the club.
The story makes it sound like Manchester City’s interest is in the early stages, and they would have to offer João Pedro a better project so he could give up on his move to Watford. UOL adds that Barcelona have recently made an approach as well.
Besides paying Watford the €20m fine, Manchester City would obviously have to get to a deal with Fluminense as well. The Hornets paid only €2.5m to sign João Pedro last year, with other possible €7.5m in add-ons. But with the striker’s success now, it’s likely that the Brazilian side would want much more.
