Porto and Manchester City locked in transfer talks on Monday morning with midfielder set for matchday duties on deadline day | OneFootball

Manchester City remain locked in talks with FC Porto over a deal for Spanish central midfielder Nico Gonzalez, according to new reports on deadline day.

The Premier League champions come into deadline day off the back of yet another drubbing in competitive action as they fell to a staggering 5-1 defeat away to Arsenal in the English top-flight on Sunday afternoon.

The result at the Emirates Stadium further emphasised the clear need for a capable central midfielder to stand-in for Rodri for the remainder of the campaign and also drive the club into a fresh era as part of an intended rebuild.

Thankfully for Manchester City fans, that point of view is very much shared by those within the club too, as they remain firmly focussed on bringing in a new name in the middle of the park in the hours that remain on transfer deadline day.

While the club had identified the likes of Juventus’ Douglas Luiz and Ederson of Atalanta as potential options, their focus has been narrowed on Porto’s Nico Gonzalez, although a deal is not proving to be straightforward given the lack of time remaining to negotiate a move.

According to the information of MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, the move involving Nico Gonzalez is hinging on whether Manchester City can negotiate the Portuguese club down from a £50 million release clause on the player, or simply pay the money demanded.

For the moment, it is detailed that two clubs are talking on Monday morning over a deal for the 23-year-old midfielder and Gonzalez – as it stands – remains in the Porto squad for their game against Rio Ave in Liga Portugal tonight.

Pep Guardiola has already discussed the challenges faced by Manchester City over bringing in a new midfielder into the club this month, despite insisting that a number of players from across the globe certainly have the ability to stand in the position for his side.

“There are players that can do it but they [clubs] don’t sell, they’re so expensive. So we cannot do it,” Guardiola told a recent media conference.

“But we thought about that because [Mateo] Kova and [Ilkay] Gundo are helping, but they’re not proper, proper holding midfielders – we know. They’re making incredible effort, I’m grateful for that.

“In the tough period, I know perfectly the players that made a step up to try to solve our weaknesses that sometimes we have for commitment and effort. That’s why I’m so grateful for a few of them.”