MANCHESTER CITY have reportedly beaten Arsenal and Barcelona in the race to sign Brazilian starlet Yan Couto from Coritiba.
Brazilian news outlet GloboEsporte have reported City have made a £12million offer for the 17-year-old full-back.
Yan Couto won the Under-17 World Cup with BrazilCredit: Getty – Contributor
Barcelona were keen to finalise a deal for Couto as quickly as possible to avoid losing out to the competition.
He was attracting interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs after being highly rated in his home country.
But according to reports in Brazil, City have almost doubled what Barcelona were prepared to pay.
The offer reportedly includes an initial fee of £7million with another £5million in add-ons.
The youngster was part of the Brazil squad that won the Under-17 World Cup in 2019 for the first time since 2003.
He set up the winning goal three minutes into added time to help them beat Mexico 2-1.
He joined Brazilian side Coritiba at the age of nine and has impressed as he has risen through the ranks.
Arsenal were keen on him earlier in the month as they saw him as a long-term replacement for Hector Bellerin.
Manchester City can’t officially sign Couto until the summer when he turns 18.
Although, as has been the case with plenty of players such as Vinicius Junior, a deal can be arranged in advance.
Pep Guardiola could consider waiting until the summer before making a move for the Brazilian with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo available to him.
Fernandinho signs new one-year contract extension with Man City keeping him at Etihad until end summer of 2021
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
