Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester City are in the mix to sign a highly-rated Porto defensive star currently featuring at the Club World Cup in the US, TEAMtalk can reveal.
Several big clubs across Europe are closely watching Martim Fernandes, the impressive 19‑year‑old right‑back currently playing for the Portuguese giants.
The young defender is representing Porto at the Club World Cup and has been making a strong impression with his solid performances during the entire season.
Napoli have recently asked for information about the full-back, seeing him as a promising option for the future. Meanwhile, Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen have been following him for almost a year, keeping a close eye on his development and evaluating every step he takes. Both clubs consider him a player with great potential and a bright future.
TEAMtalk, meanwhile, can reveal that Man City have also joined the other interested clubs in the race for Fernandes.
Guardiola has added the young talent to his list of talents to watch and is monitoring him closely, hoping to understand if he can fit into City’s long‑term plans.
Although he is still very young, Fernandes has already attracted a lot of interest from top clubs across Europe.
Porto, for their part are well aware of the rising attention in the player, while Fernandes himself is focused on doing well with his current team in the United States – with the last match of the group scheduled against Al Ahly on Tuesday.
However, in the background, many big names are already planning their moves for the Portuguese defender.
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Meanwhile, Arsenal are in the mix to complete a surprise deal for former Manchester City player Aymeric Laporte, with a report detailing how much he will cost to sign from Al-Nassr this summer.
Laporte was a part of the City squad which won five Premier League titles, the club’s only Champions League, two FA Cups and four League Cups, plus other silverware.
But the defender found game time limited during the 2022/23 season, and this proved to be his last at the Etihad as he ended up joining Al-Nassr for €27.5m (then £23.6m) in August 2023.
Laporte was criticised for following the money by heading to Saudi Arabia, though he could end up returning to the elite level in Europe this summer.
According to Madrid-based newspaper AS, the Spain international has several options on the table as he evaluates a move away from Al-Nassr – with one of them being Arsenal.
One pundit, meanwhile, has urged Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to make a play for one of City’s top players and try to bring him to the Emirates Stadium this sumer – and it’s not the currently available Jack Grealish.
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