Mark Ogden reacts to Manchester City’s Champions League playoff draw against Real Madrid. (2:09)
Manchester City are weighing up a move for FC Porto midfielder Nico González, sources have told ESPN.
City is still in the midfielder market, he has already spent more than 120 million pounds sterling (148. 8 million dollars) in Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the January movement window.
They are also interested in Douglas Luiz, who can be allowed to leave Juventus borrowed before the deadline on Monday.
Gonzalez is also on the city’s short list, they don’t have a formal touch with Porto yet, according to ESPN sources.
Spain’s former Barcelona club owed a move-in fee if the 23-year-old moves to the Etihad Stadium.
Gonzalez joined Barca’s academy in 2013 and progressed to the first team before joining Porto on an €8. 5m deal in 2023.
Barça confirmed at the time they had maintained an option to re-sign González as well as percentage of any future transfer.
Sources told ESPN that the option was set at €30m until the summer of 2025, while Barca are also owed 40% of the pay Porto receives.
The Portuguese side also have the option to buy an additional 20% at any time, reducing Barca’s relief to an imaginable move to 20%.
González’s father, Fran, also a professional footballer, adding random games to Deportivo La Coruña, and also spent time running as coach in City.
While his father in the city, when González is 16 years old, the Premier League team tried to indicate to the Barça midfielder.
“He had given abroad, very wonderful, a lot of money, but his dream of playing for Barcelona,” Fran told ESPN in 2022. “It’s a massive sacrifice, especially for his brothers and sisters, who didn’t need to move to Barcelona [from a Coruña in 2013], but he learned his dream [to play for Barça].
Pep Guardiola was asked at his news conference on Friday whether City could bring in more new players before the deadline.
“I don’t know,” he said. Financially, we were solid during the last season. Even at this point with the investment we have made, we have a huge net profit in the five seasons beyond.
“Perhaps in the future, we will continue to do so because the club has moved very well in the more than five years in terms of sales, but also the players who have helped us win what we introduce ourselves”
Information from ESPN’s Moises Llorens contributed to this report.