Representatives of Nicolas Otamendi and most importantly his agent, Jorge Mendes, have met with Manchester United officials to discuss the proposed transfer of the player from Valencia to Old Trafford, say Superdeporte.es
The Spanish publication claim that Mendes was in Manchester on Sunday, meeting with both United and City officials in two separate meetings – they also understand that there are to be no further meetings between Otamendi’s representatives and either United or City – meaning that any propsed deal is either off, or has been agreed in principle and now has to be formally actioned.
The Argentinian defender, who was a star performer at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as Argentina reached the final, is currently on holiday in Buenos Aires. He has just a matter of days left before he has to return to Valencia to prepare for the new season – something he’d rather not do, but if a transfer away from the club is not a reality, he has accepted that he will have to go about his job at Valencia with ultimate professionalism and face the fans as the man who wanted out.
Superdeporte claim that a transfer fee is to be discussed on Tuesday but they do not specify with which Manchester club – however, the links between United and Otamendi have been much longer-standing and more frequent, and Jorge Mendes has a good relationship with the Red Devils so it is more than plausible that it is United who are close to the signing of Otamendi, if either club at all.
As far as the player is concerned, he will still be travelling to Valencia to report for training on Friday, but that could all change at a moment’s notice depending on the advancement of talks with any club interested in him. Superdeporte state that Jorge Mendes is due in the Spanish city in the next few days, which could signal a faster pace in talks from that point onwards. If their report is to be believed, both Manchester United and Manchester City will table formal bids for the player in the coming days.
Otamendi has a buy-out clause in his contract which is worth around £35,000,000.
