Chelsea rule out summer transfer for Manchester City target – Brighton pose major threat after €20M bid | OneFootball

Chelsea have ruled out a possible swoop for Flamengo and Brazil defender Wesley Franca this summer, as per a new report.

Manchester City have been linked with the 21-year-old full-back, who is among the contenders to replace Kyle Walker ahead of the 2025-26 campaign after the 35-year-old England international’s return from a loan stint at AC Milan.

Walker, who signed a new contract at the Etihad Stadium in 2023, lost his starting place in Pep Guardiola’s squad in the fall of 2024 and sought exile in Italy after a poor run of form last autumn that saw him fall down Manchester City’s pecking order.

The former Tottenham man, who joined forces with Guardiola in 2017, has won six Premier League titles at Manchester City but is clearly past his prime and as he approaches the twilight of his career, time is up for Walker at the Etihad Stadium.

Hugo Viana is spearheading Manchester City’s transfer business this summer after replacing Txiki Begiristain as sporting director, having laid down an early marker by securing the arrival(s) of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki in June.

The quartet have joined up with the Manchester City squad in the United States for the FIFA Club World Cup, with Reijnders drawing huge praise after an eye-catching performance in his debut against Wydad AC last week – and Cherki grabbing his first goal in a sky blue jersey in the 6-0 drubbing of Al Ain on Sunday.

After addressing their long-standing left-back issues with the signing of Ait-Nouri from Wolves, Manchester City are still expected to return to the transfer market and sign a new right-back to replace Walker and bolster their prospects in an area that have been a key vulnerability in recent years.

Negotiations have stalled with Newcastle for England full-back Valentino Livramento, who has three years remaining on his current deal at St. James’ Park and would warrant a fee that Manchester City officials may deem is above and beyond what they are willing to pay for the 22-year-old.

Journalist Jorge Nicola has provided an update on the future of Manchester City target Wesley Franca, who has attracted interest from a wide array of European clubs; with Brighton submitting a formal €20 million offer for the Brazilian full-back this week.

“Just to clarify something, many people said that after the match against Chelsea the English club would also join the fight to sign Wesley. That’s not true,” said Nicola, as quoted by Sport Witness, ruling Chelsea out of the race to sign the right-back.

“Wesley is well-regarded at Chelsea; he played well despite the goal. Despite this mistake, the evaluation was positive. But Chelsea is not thinking about signing him because they already have at least two players with a great future for the position.”

It remains to be seen how Manchester City tackle their right-back problem in the remainder of the transfer window, with the board firmly against getting involved in a long-drawn game of chess with Newcastle for Livramento, who may prove too expensive this summer.