Man City snatch Brazilian starlet Yan Couto from Barcelona grasp
The reigning Premier League champions under Pep Guardiola are reported to have had an offer accepted for the Brazilian u-17 star, beating Barça to the punch.
Yan Couto is 17 years old and, despite his youth, has already had some of Europe's elite clubs looking to splash the cash, relatively, for his services.
City to beat Barcelona to Couto
Manchester City have reportedly had an offer accepted to bring the Coritiba defender to the Premier League. According to Globoesporte, Pep Guardiola's club laid down a bid that is three times what Barcelona and Arsenal had done, to secure the Brazilian U-17 star.
Barcelona's frustration in all this has been clear, after already describing Couto as their 'new Dani Alves', with City now in pole position due to the amount they are willing to pay. The Catalan club had proposed something between 4.7-6 million euros, whereas City came in with 8.9 million euros and could be prepared to pay up to 15 million euros.
The right back, who was part of the U-17 World Cup winning side, would not leave Coritiba until the summer, when he turns 18. And although his departure from his homeland is not imminent, the youngster caught some attention on Thursday when he tweeted an emoji of a plane with a pair of eyes, hinting at a move.
Couto is seen as one of the most outstanding talents of his age group, and Arsenal, among others, were another of the clubs looking at him, as a successor to Héctor Bellerin.