From Brazil: Manchester City prepare ‘major offer’ for €50 million-rated AS Roma defender | OneFootball

Manchester City are reportedly braced to renew interest in AS Roma’s highly-rated right-back Wesley, whose value could rise to €50 million.

Sporting director Hugo Viana guided Pep Guardiola’s side to a successful January transfer window this year having signed Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi from Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively – and both have made striking starts to life in East Manchester. 

Those arrivals – particularly Guehi’s – came off the back of an injury crisis that Manchester City are only just starting to recover from, albeit with Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic, Savinho, and Josko Gvardiol all still out.

Ruben Dias featured for the first time against Liverpool since the start of January having sustained a hamstring problem against Chelsea at the start of the year. Undoubtedly, Dias and Gvardiol’s injuries crippled Guardiola’s side the most, leading Viana and other officials to stamp interest in Wesley – who joined Roma last year, quickly establishing himself in Serie A. 

His performances have drawn attention from across Europe, but Roma hold a strong position in talks given the Brazilian has a contract running until the summer of 2030, making it clear that they will only consider a sale if a ‘major offer’ arrives. 

Although, that major offer could yet come from Manchester City, who are reportedly composing a bid of €50 million (£43 million) for the defender, as reported by Netfla, translated and relayed by Sport Witness. 

City’s reported pursuit of Wesley came after Guardiola approved him as a potential signing following internal discussions about strengthening the right side of defence with Matheus Nunes the only native option after Rico Lewis’ transition into midfield in recent seasons.

The 2023 Treble-winning club decided not the move forward during the recent winter window but the picture has now changed. The Premier League giants are now said to view the coming months as a better moment to act and could back their interest up with a bid in the summer. 

In Serie A so far this season, Wesley has started 22 of a possible 24 games, scoring three goals and straightening his career after enduring an up-and-down spell at Brazilian side Flamengo, where he made 136 appearances in total. 

At times in Brazil, Wesley faced criticism from supporters but eventually won the trust of coaching staff to become an important figure in the squad, lifting silverware during his time through the Brazilian league title, the Copa do Brasil, and the Libertadores. 

Any new and improved offer from Manchester City could now represent a more serious test of Roma’s resolve and whether talks intensify or not – granted their desire of a major offer being delivered – remains to be seen. 

For now, Wesley’s next steps continue to be open while the Italian club stay in control. Manchester City will inevitably have to offer big money for the talent, yet it is not beyond a club who have spent over £400 million across the last two transfer windows alone.