Report: Man City beat Liverpool, Chelsea to £40m Monaco star

Rob McCarthy

Manchester City are reportedly on the verge of completing a move for Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy, according to reports coming out of France.

Pep Guardiola’s men are close to sealing a €45 million (£39.6m) deal for the France international, with Le10 Sport claiming that it could all go through by the end of this week.

City, who signed Bernardo Silva from Monaco for £43m last month, have been the frontrunners for Mendy’s signature for some time, although Liverpool and Chelsea had also registered an interest in the player.

The 22-year-old was one of Monaco’s star men as they lifted the Ligue 1 trophy and also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.

Mendy is expected to slot straight into the left-back role vacated by Gael Clichy after he was allowed to leave on a free transfer, although that hasn’t stopped City also being linked with a move for Southampton and England star Ryan Bertrand.

Guardiola is looking for fresh competition in the full-back areas at The Etihad after highlighting the defensive roles as a City weakness last term.