Man City 'agree' £50m deal for Porto midfielder | OneFootball

Manchester City look set to sign Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez, which stands to take their January transfer window spending to almost £180m.

City fell 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool over the weekend, having also played a game more, to all but end their hopes of achieving an unprecedented fifth successive title.

The reigning champions have responded in a big way to particularly dreadful form across November and December derailing their season. The new arrivals won't resurrect the current campaign but could give City a jump on 2025/26 by giving those recruits extra time to settle and adapt.

Once an expected Gonzalez deal is completed, the Spaniard would be a fifth winter signing, with Adbukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush and Juma Bah so far costing around £127m.

After City identified 23-year-old Gonzalez as a target, there was initially some back and forth over the player's €60m (£50m) release clause. ESPN reported that City made it known they weren't willing to meet such a high figure, preferring a reduced €40m (£33m) deal. But Porto didn't want to drop the price, owing Barcelona as much as 40% of the transfer fee due to a sell-on clause.

Gonzalez has impressed since joining Porto from Barcelona / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/GettyImages

But, on Monday afternoon, Fabrizio Romano reported that City had relented over the higher number. They stopped short of triggering the clause, and therefore won't have to pay up front, but have agreed to the full amount in structured instalments.

That crucial development allowed Gonzalez to travel to Manchester with enough time to spare for a medical and to sign the contracts. It should mean it gets over the line before Monday's deadline.

Gonzalez started his career at Barcelona after graduating La Masia around the same time as fellow midfielder Gavi. He played 37 first-team games in 2021/22, but was loaned to Valencia the following season and then joined Porto for just €8.5m in the summer of 2023.