Manchester City’s deal to sign Palmeiras defender Vitor Reis has entered the final stages.
Sky Sports News reported City reached a £29.4m agreement in principle to sign the 19-year-old prospect on Wednesday.
No bonuses are set to be included in the deal and the player is currently in Brazil awaiting permission from Palmeiras to fly to England.
Reis is the second centre-back set to move to City in the January window after Abdukodir Khusanov, who is due in the UK to complete a £33.5m transfer from Lens.
SSN reported a number of clubs – including Brighton – had gathered information on the 19-year-old, who is set to join Pep Guardiola’s side this month.
Palmeiras president Leila Pereira confirmed City made an official offer for the player on Monday and an agreement in principle was reached two days later.
Palmeiras were always relaxed over the situation after selling an array of talent into Europe in the past 18 months for big fees, including Endrick to Real Madrid and Willian Estevao to Chelsea.
City have had a number of injury problems to contend with and their list of players sidelined in recent weeks includes centre-backs John Stones and Ruben Dias.
On refreshing the squad, Guardiola said at his press conference on Monday: “We knew at the beginning of the season that the team, in a question of time, would have 10, 11 players more than 30-years-old.
“But the same team that are more than 30-years-old, five or six months ago, won a fourth Premier League in a row.
“We knew that sooner or later we should have done it but what happened wasn’t expected. The best way to do it is gradually but after the injuries – wow – maybe we should have done it.
“But you never know in that position. I think the team is really good and the squad is really good, otherwise we cannot have achieved what we achieved last season.”
Why Man City are signing Reis
South American football expert Tim Vickery told Sky Sports News:
“Palmeiras originally wanted to keep him for the Club World Cup but they are pragmatically run and the bid kept going up.
“It seems to have reached their asking price. It looks like it will go ahead in the coming days. It would make Vitor Reis the most expensive centre-back to come out of Brazil.
“This is City pushing the reset button. They have seen three things that they really like about this player.
“You can see the influence of Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, that is the centre-back he wants to be. Classy on the ball, head up and can play out the back.
“Versatile defensively, he can operate in a back three or four. Happier on the right but has played on the left.
“The other thing is leadership qualities and those are the things City have identified.”
Reis ‘not Premier League ready yet’
South American football expert Tim Vickery told Sky Sports News:
“I don’t think he’s anywhere near Premier League ready at the moment. He’s classy but he needs to fill out physically.
“Palmeiras have been producing a lot of good players recently – most of them attackers.
“If you were to put him in the Premier League at the moment, he would really be bullied.
“There is an interesting comparison with Murillo from Nottingham Forest. Reis is coming on 22 games and Murillo was on 25 from Corinthians. Murillo is that little bit older and he is also built. No physical problems.
“Reis needs some filling out and can be bullied. It’s hard to imagine him making an immediate impact.”
Man City want Marmoush immediately as Frankfurt demand £67m
Eintracht Frankfurt have been informed that Manchester City want to sign Omar Marmoush immediately.
The German club are demanding around £67m (€80m) for the 25-year-old.
City’s current offer is believed to be slightly lower than Eintracht’s demand, in the range of £59m (€70m) fixed, plus £4.2m-£8.4m (€5m-€10m) in add-ons, according to Sky Germany.
City sporting director Txiki Begiristain is pushing for an agreement in the next 48 hours and, at this stage, it is unlikely that Marmoush will play against Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
There is no release clause for the forward and offers significantly below that are expected to be rejected by the Bundesliga club, who are third in the German top flight.
Marmoush, who can operate across the front three, has scored 13 goals in the Bundesliga so far this season, with only Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane scoring more.
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