Manchester City have failed with an offer of £44.5million for Benjamin Mendy, as Monaco demand a fee similar to the fee the Blues paid for Kyle Walker.
It seems as though Pep Guardiola has spent most of his summer chasing a number of fullbacks, and having missed out on Dani Alves who snubbed the Premier League for Paris Saint Germain, he finally landed a target last week when the Blues paid an initial £50million for Walker.
Next on the agenda is Mendy, who played a starring role as Monaco won Ligue 1 and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League season. But the Stade Louis II club have rejected a bid of £44.5million, as they feel he is worth every bit as much as City’s latest acquisition.
This will be frustrating for both Guardiola and the player, who expected to complete a move to the Etihad Stadium during the course of this week having been pencilled in for a medical. It does, however, remain likely that the Manchester club will return with an improved bid for the 23-year-old.
Meanwhile, it looks as though City are having better luck in their pursuit of another fullback, namely Danilo of Real Madrid. A fee of £26.5million has been agreed between the two clubs for the 26-year-old Brazilian, whose ability to also operate in a defensive midfield role appeals to Guardiola.
