Manchester City looking set to trigger £83m release clause for starlet
Manchester City are reportedly keeping a close watch on Brazilian talent, Matheus Franca. The 17-year-old is making his name in this year’s South American youth tournament, Copa Sao Paulo. This comes as per HITC (h/t BOLAVIP)
The midfielder has impressed the scouts attending the ‘talent show’ and the Cityzens are looking to pull of a gamble, similar to what Real Madrid did when they spent as much £100 million on three young Brazilian starlets (Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, and Reinier), who had just entered the professional stage.
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The Cityzens’ established midfield is slowly starting to grow into an area of concern as the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne have become injury-prone off-late and this could prompt Pep Guardiola to look for backups. With club veteran Fernandinho looking set to leave the club this coming summer window, City will be looking to sign a long-term replacement.
The report further adds that Franca and his club Flamengo are not said to be open to a move at this stage of the player’s career. Thus, City would need to make a ‘big offer’ or offer an extraordinary sum to sign Franca.
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The young midfielder certainly has a bright future in store for him but if City do decide to go ahead with this operation (unlikely), it would be a huge gamble. The level of football in the Premier League has certainly increased by leaps and bounds and with the youngster having played only 2 games for Flamengo this season, it is better to wait for the 17-year-old, who is also being scouted by Real Madrid.
As it stands, City are eyeing Declan Rice as the potential replacement of Fernandinho for the next term. The Englishman is also on the wishlist of rivals Manchester United, and Chelsea.
With West Ham United set to demand a fee excess of £100 million, it remains unclear if the Sky Blues would be willing to spend so much on a single player, especially since they are looking to go all-out for Erling Haaland next summer.