CALIFORNIA DREAMING
BENJAMIN Mendy has flown to Los Angeles to complete his move to City as Pep Guardiola secures a £78.5m double deal in the space of 48 hours.
And the Blues are becoming increasingly confident of landing Alexis Sanchez before the window closes after PSG pulled out of the race for the Arsenal striker.
French international Mendy, 23, will have a medical today and join up with the Blues squad, who are on their pre-season tour of the States, just a day after the club finalised the £26.5m signing of Danilo.
The Brazilian defender has joined from Real Madrid on a fiveyear contract and will give Guardiola options on each defensive flank and also in midfield.
City were cautious about interest from Chelsea, who have already been beaten to the punch on Romelu Lukaku in this transfer window.
But Guardiola’s influence was enough to swing it for the 26-year-old, leaving sporting director Txiki Begiristain satisfied.
“Danilo is a fine player who offers great versatility to our squad,” he said.
“He can operate in several different roles in both defence and midfield, increasing Pep’s options ahead of the new season.
“We feel he has all the attributes needed to succeed at City and we look forward to helping him develop during his time here.”
Guardiola has seen his transfer plans make significant progress in the past 48 hours, with City also agreeing the £52m deal for Monaco left-back Mendy, who will become the most expensive defender in the world once his transfer is completed.
And Guardiola will not stop there, with Sanchez his next major target.
City are the only club in the race to sign the striker now as sources in France claim rivals PSG have cooled their interest after refusing to pay wages of £500,000 a week.
There is a growing feeling Sanchez is pricing himself out of a move abroad in a bid to join City in what would be a £50m move.