Manchester City’s negotiations with Valencia for winger Ferran Torres have entered ‘decisive territory’ with a deal for the youngster looking increasingly likely.
That’s according to Super Deporte, who say that negotiations over the player are now being handled by Peter Lim and Mansour bin Zayed personally.
Earlier today we covered a report that stated their relationship would ‘facilitate’ Torres’ move to the Etihad this summer and now Super Deporte provide more information on that.
They explain that the two friends are working on a deal between themselves and the fact they are doing so is ‘clear proof’ that they have both decided to get a transfer done.
Lim, for his part, is ‘obliged’ to sell Torres this summer as Valencia need the money after missing out on European competition this season.
In the same vein, he also knows they cannot afford to miss out on a fee for a player whose contract expires next summer.
He wants ‘liquidity’ in the club’s coffers and the sooner he can get the money into the bank, the better it will be. And it is on this basis he is discussing things with his Manchester City counterpart.
Mansour is said to be playing ‘the best cards’ in the negotiations, though, as he knows he holds the power given the player’s contract situation.
Similarly, City already have an agreement in place with Torres, who was convinced by Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain when they contacted him weeks ago and offered him ‘an attractive Champions League project’ and a ‘much better’ wage packet.
Lim is determined to get at least €40m for his man but it’s made clear he will have a ‘hard time’ doing so because Manchester City are ‘in charge’ of the negotiations and have made it clear they don’t want to go above €30m.
That deal could include bonuses to ramp it up, although at the moment they’ve started with a ‘much lower offer’ that includes youngster Yangel Herrera, who Valencia are keen on signing, to try and tempt the Spanish side into a deal.
