Although most of the Portuguese press has been taking it easy on the Bruno Fernandes rumours, saying Manchester City are still far from a deal, newspaper Correio da Manhã have gone against the tide in the past couple of days.
The newspaper brought a story on Thursday saying Pep Guardiola’s side are currently working out the kinks with Sporting as they get closer to a deal for the midfielder.
Correio da Manhã claimed that director Txiki Begiristain and agent Miguel Pinho are in talks on a daily basis, and the conclusion could happen soon.
It’s been said that Manchester City are not willing to pay over €50m for the transfer, and that’s why they would include one or two players in the deal. Performance bonuses of €5m or €10m would also be added.
The newspaper claimed that Fernandes is getting a five-year contract, and there’s the possibility that Manchester City get the option to extend it for a further season.
Although it’s known that Fernandes would make much more than the €1.6m he earns per season at Sporting, the personal terms still have details to be agreed.
We’d ignored all this on Thursday, given City sent out a denial.
But now on Friday, the same newspaper brings a story saying it’s really Jorge Mendes who has been working on this transfer.
The outlet reports that the agent is helping Sporting to rebuild their team. That means selling the most expensive players, and signing cheap ones.
Mendes is said to be representing the Lions in the negotiations with Manchester City, although Sport Witness heard there’s been no involvement from Gestifute in this deal.
