Manchester United’s talks to sign Sporting star Nuno Mendes will ‘accelerate’ in the coming weeks, but Manchester City are also in the picture.
That’s according to Correio da Manhã, who say Sporting are in a ‘hurry’ to nail the specifics of the deal so they can plan for the transfer window themselves.
The newspaper explains that Mendes’ departure from the Portuguese club is seen as ‘inevitable’ at this point, given his ‘galloping valuation’ in recent months.
Sporting are open to a sale, but they want to set his final valuation as soon as possible so they can know how much they’ll have to ‘attack’ the transfer window.
Their desire is to close a deal no later than the end of June, although there is a feeling the player’s involvement at the Euros with Portugal could help increase his value.
That may make his club wait, but it’s unlikely as those in charge feel his value is already on the rise given his performances at club and international level.
As far as Correio da Manhã are concerned, talks with Manchester United and Manchester City, who are the ‘main interested’ parties in Mendes, will ‘accelerate in the coming weeks’ after Mendes’ agent Miguel Pinho made a trip to Manchester.
While the exact terms of a deal are to be defined, Sporting already have something out an outline in place.
They will not accept less than €40m for Mendes but are hoping that the competition between Manchester United and Manchester City can push that to €45m and even €50m.
In addition to this, they want any buyer to include bonuses for certain objectives and to loan a player with his wages or loan cost for free.
Their intention is that the overall deal is close to €70m, which is the value of the termination clause in Mendes’ current contract
Sporting’s focus, though, is on the immediate money they can receive first, with Manchester Mendes’ ‘likely destination’ either way.
