Manchester City to make €70m double bid for Sporting CP pair in the ‘next days’

Manchester City are looking to Portugal for summer recruits with the Record newspaper reporting that Pep Guardiola is planning an imminent raid on Sporting CP for two of their stars.

William Carvalho, the 24-year-old Portugal international midfielder, is a common name on the Manchester City rumour mill, particularly since Pep’s brother, Pere Guardiola, became his agent. The sturdy midfielder has been frequently linked with a move to the Etihad as a long-term Yaya Touré successor, and he is one of the two City are ready to swoop for.

Gelson Martins, 22, is another Portugal international, a talented right winger who has previously been linked with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United. He scored 6 goals and registered 8 assists in 31 Liga NOS starts this season, and is a player full of pace and trickery.

Record has information that Manchester City will make a combined bid of €70 million (£60 million) for the duo in the next few days, however club president Bruno de Carvalho is inclined to turn it down. He values William at €40 million and Gelson at €50 million so it would take something in the region of €90 million (£77.3 million) to sign the two of them together.

Guardiola has targeted the Sporting players as part of his strategy to bring in younger players of great talent, international experience, and a hunger to win titles at the highest level. They would be signed as part of the same policy that saw John Stones, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sané and Gabriel Jesus arrive.

Carvalho and Martins have been leading figures at Sporting this season and are viewed as their most valuable assets, which explains why Bruno de Carvalho wants top dollar to relinquish them both.

Get your Manchester City 2017/18 home shirt. Pre-order Online Now!

gelson martins, william carvalho