Man City to pay £80M to sign extraordinary Tottenham player Postecoglou absolutely adores

Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have seen a handful of notable transfer dealings between them over recent summer windows.

Perhaps the most high-profile was in 2017, when Manchester City acquired Kyle Walker from Spurs, who were then managed by Mauricio Pochettino.

Ahead of the transfer, Walker revealed that he had direct talks with Pep Guardiola and also spoke with Guardiola’s brother, who emphasized the club’s strong desire to bring him on board.

Another memorable transfer between the clubs was when Tottenham signed Emmanuel Adebayor from City, marking another instance of a significant player switching between the two sides.

Adebayor’s move was preceded by a loan stint with Real Madrid before he committed to North London. Vedran Corluka’s switch from Manchester City to Tottenham also stands out, adding to the list of players who have transitioned between these teams.

More recently, Pedro Porro’s name has emerged as another player to have connections with both Manchester City and Tottenham. Although Porro’s time at City saw limited action, he has since found a key role at Tottenham, where he has become their primary right-back.

Reports indicate that Tottenham values Porro at £80 million, a fee that reflects both his development and their determination to retain him. However, City has reportedly shown interest in bringing Porro back to Manchester, with Real Madrid also eyeing him as a potential long-term successor to Dani Carvajal.

Given City’s history of successful negotiations with Tottenham, as seen with Walker, they might feel optimistic about reaching a deal for Porro. However, Tottenham remains focused on keeping him, especially to avoid strengthening a domestic rival.

City’s confidence in potentially signing Porro may partly stem from Tottenham’s understanding of the defender’s soaring market value since his move to North London.

Tottenham has not ruled out cashing in on him, despite his importance to the squad. City, while pleased with the progress of their young talent Rico Lewis, appears interested in adding an experienced right-back option to their roster.

Tottenham’s manager Ange Postecoglou has publicly praised Porro, calling him “super” and an excellent technical talent with great athleticism.

Meanwhile, Guardiola himself admitted that Porro was on Manchester City’s shortlist in early 2023, particularly after Joao Cancelo went on loan to Bayern Munich, leaving a gap in the squad.

At that time, City could have exercised a £16.9 million buy-back clause to bring Porro back from Sporting CP, though other clubs, including Tottenham, would have needed to pay significantly more—around £38 million.

After Porro ultimately signed with Tottenham, Guardiola acknowledged that City had considered him as an option but chose not to activate the buy-back.

Speaking to Manchester Evening News journalist Joe Bray, Guardiola explained that Porro was well-suited to play in a five-at-the-back system and described him as a solid signing for Spurs.

Despite the initial interest, Guardiola clarified that City hadn’t pursued the buy-back clause, as the timing led Porro to opt for Tottenham instead.

Whether Manchester City intensifies their pursuit of Porro in the face of Real Madrid’s interest remains to be seen. The fact that City initially passed on re-signing Porro, even when Cancelo was absent, suggests they may have reevaluated his potential contribution. Now, with circumstances different, both City and Real Madrid might look to revisit their interest in the right-back.

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