Manchester City have had a €50m bid for Monaco's left-back Benjamin Mendy rejected, with the French club demanding closer to the €56m-plus deal paid to Tottenham Hotspur for the right-back Kyle Walker.
It is understood City are confident of sealing the transfer of Mendy and will return with a higher offer. The 23-year-old was due to have a medical on Tuesday but haggling over his final fee could not be resolved in time.
Monaco believe that, as Mendy is four years younger than Walker and a France international, he is worth at least as much as the 28-year-old Englishman, given the current inflated nature of the transfer market.
If Mendy is signed and he is joined by Real Madrid’s Danilo, another prospective buy for City, then Pep Guardiola would end his summer of targeting of full-backs.
The head coach would view Danilo, who has more often been a right-back, as a left-back too. And the Brazilian could also be deployed as a holding midfielder so Guardiola would not have to buy another player in that position.
Monaco have threatened to report “important European clubs” to Fifa for making illegal approaches for their teenage striker Kylian Mbappé.
Entourage
The 18-year-old is wanted by several clubs and Monaco, who do not want to sell a player whose goals contributed to them reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, responded on Thursday by releasing a statement.
“AS Monaco regretfully notice that ‘important’ European football clubs made contacts with Kylian Mbappé (and his entourage) without its authorization,” it read.
“AS Monaco want to remind these clubs that such actions are contrary to the article 211 of the Administrative regulation of the French Football League (Ligue de Football Professionnel) and to the article 18.3 of the Regulation of the Status and the Transfer of the Players of Fifa.
“To put an end to this unacceptable situation, AS Monaco consider asking the French Football League and the Fifa to commit disciplinary procedures against clubs offenders.”
Monaco have already sold Bernardo Silva to Manchester City and Tiemoué Bakayoko to Chelsea this summer.
Guardian Service
