Manchester United to offload summer signing in swap deal for €70 million target

According to Record, Manchester United are interested in signing Sporting Lisbon defender Nuno Mendes. The report went on to claim that Manchester United could offer Alex Telles in a swap deal for Mendes.

Mendes has attracted interest from top sides across Europe after impressing in his breakout season at Sporting Lisbon with Barcelona, Manchester City and Manchester United have all been linked with the 18-year-old. Records claims that the latter are very willing to get the highly-rated youngster and could offer a deal to the Portuguese side that involves Alex Telles.

📝 — #mufc want to beat Man City to the signing of Nuno Mendes. Alex Telles has been offered as ‘a bargaining chip’, & Sporting have said yes to it, but there needs to be clarity over certain aspects to conclude the deal #mujournal [Record h/t @Sport_Witness]

— United Journal (@theutdjournal) April 3, 2021

Luke Shaw is currently the preferred option at left-back for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United after the Englishman's astounding improvement in recent times. Shaw's rich vein of form has led to a lack of game time for Alex Telles, with the Brazilian appearing only seven times in the league since his arrival in the summer.

Manchester United would have to pay a lot to sign Mendes

Luxembourg v Portugal - FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Qualifier

Other reports claim that Telles could join Sporting on loan to provide a direct replacement for Mendes as he moves to Manchester United. It is however yet to be seen if this will happen as the Brazilian media have dismissed all talks of Telles leaving Manchester United this summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still views him as a part of his side.

Mendes is a graduate of Sporting's academy, joining the first team in July 2020. The Portuguese was mainly used as a backup for Marcos Acuna at the left-back position. But after the departure of the Argentine to Sevilla last summer, Mendes secured the starting spot for himself and has gone on to impress for Sporting in their league charge.

Although Nuno Mendes is listed as a LWB/LM, his numbers show a high level of defensive responsibility, so we included him in here.The 18-year-old Portuguese is already a regular in a Sporting team that's still unbeaten in the Primeira Liga this season, which speaks for itself. pic.twitter.com/zorCJDmvPK

— SofaScore (@SofaScoreINT) April 6, 2021

He signed a new contract at the club last year, that runs till 2025 and has a release clause of €70M. It should therefore be expected that should Manchester United or any other top side across Europe go for his signature, they would have to pay a hefty sum for the teenager.

Manchester United are expected to be active in the transfer window come summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to get his side competing for trophies. Names like Pau Torres, Jules Kounde, Declan Rice and Jadon Sancho have all been linked with Manchester United in the past few months.