Demanded fee too high: Telles and Man United put pressure on Porto

One year before the end of his contract, Alex Telles’ departure from Porto is as good as certain in the current transfer window. The interest of Manchester United is no secret as well – the 27-year-old Brazilian is said to have already reached an agreement with the Red Devils. The only thing the two clubs still have to sort out is the amount of the fee.

According to a report by the Guardian, Telles has contacted the Portuguese titleholders’ bosses to persuade them to demand a lower fee. So far, Porto would be willing to let their most valuable player leave for an amount of around €20 million. Even if this is only half of Telles’ market value, the left-back sees this as an “unrealistic” price tag due to the short time remaining on his contract.

In view of the fact that Telles, who is one of the ten most valuable players with a contract expiring in 2021, could leave the club for free in about nine months, a fee below the €15 million mark is understood to be more realistic, according to the Guardian. Pinhas Zahavi, who also represents David Alaba, had recently informed Porto about his efforts to convince the Premier League club to pay the €20 million demanded.

Man United only paid a fee for van de Beek - 8 EPL clubs invested more

Man United’s price expectations are similar to those of Telles. Currently, the record titleholders are planning an offer of £12 million, the equivalent of about €13.1 million. Up to now, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team has only paid a fee for Donny van de Beek, who arrived from Ajax for €39 million. “When you look around at how other teams are strengthening their teams, then we must also do it to keep up with the others,” left-back Luke Shaw – who may soon be a direct competitor of Telles – had recently demanded. Eight Premier League clubs have invested more money in new players this summer than Manchester United.