Manchester City look set to sign Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez, which stands to take their January transfer window spending to almost £180m.
City fell 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool over the weekend, having also played a game more, to all but end their hopes of achieving an unprecedented fifth successive title.
The reigning champions have responded in a big way to particularly dreadful form across November and December derailing their season. The new arrivals won’t resurrect the current campaign but could give City a jump on 2025/26 by giving those recruits extra time to settle and adapt.
Once an expected Gonzalez deal is completed, the Spaniard would be a fifth winter signing, with Adbukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush and Juma Bah so far costing around £127m.
After City identified 23-year-old Gonzalez as a target, there was initially some back and forth over the player’s €60m (£50m) release clause. ESPN reported that City made it known they weren’t willing to meet such a high figure, preferring a reduced €40m (£33m) deal. But Porto didn’t want to drop the price, owing Barcelona as much as 40% of the transfer fee due to a sell-on clause.
