Hainault is so excited to be staying on

the room in this conversation is exactly what it will take to make that a reality and, as Record state it is six million Euros, which is over £5m.

For a young and promising defender, who is a Portugal Under-21 international from a Champions League-level team, that is far from an unrealistic valuation and just over two months ago was probably very appealing for City.

But the financial landscape now is so very different. The coronavirusenforced shutdown has decimated Championship revenues, bred uncertainty around the market and will almost certainly, at least in the short to medium term, cause clubs to rethink transfer and wage budgets.

Benfica’s desired fee for Pereira, and it is understood City have first refusal over whether to sign him, now looks considerably more than it did at the start of March, even if the figure has not changed.

It’s roughly two-thirds of what City paid Chelsea last summer to set a new transfer record for the signing of defender Tomas Kalas – coincidentally another loan made permanent.

It would also be the third-biggest fee paid by the club behind the Czech international and Famara Diedhiou.

Now, this is not to do Pereira a disservice, because he is a very fine player, but spending that figure on a second-choice right-back in a financial crisis for all of football seems something of a stretch.

The status of Benik Afobe must also be factored in – and is a different debate in itself – because the Robins