Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly set to battle Borussia Dortmund in pursuit of FC Porto sensation Rui Pedro
Portuguese publication A Bola have claimed that Manchester United, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund are all interested in 18-year-old attacking sensation Rui Pedro. The FC Porto wonderkid has been making waves in Portugal, and is now attracting interest from the top brass of European football.
Rui Pedro da Silva e Sousa is an 18-year-old who has already made his senior debut for FC Porto and even bagged his first senior goal in Liga NOS. The centre-forward came up through the ranks at FC Porto and has been prolific at every age level for both club and country.
The 18-year-old has been particularly on song in the UEFA Youth league for FC Porto this season, with 6 goals in 4 outings in the European competition. Pedro has represented Portugal up to the under-19 level and has scored at every age level including 1 goal from 2 games for the under-19 national side.
The player is now on the radar of top clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. All three of the clubs have up-and-coming strikers already on their books, but the immensely talented Rui Pedro is turning their heads.
Manchester City have Kelechi Iheanacho, while Gabriel Jesus is set to join the club in January. Borussia Dortmund have Ousmane Dembele while Manchester United have seen the emergence of Marcus Rashford through the ranks at Old Trafford.
And, while City seems to have their striking department sorted out, Dortmund and Manchester United might want to go in for the 18-year-old. Manchester United, especially, have the ageing presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who even though has been ageing like a fine wine, he is likely to start waning in a couple of seasons at least, if not one.
The player has a long-term contract with FC Porto, a deal that is set to run till 2021. But the striker has a reported release clause of €30 million inserted in the contract, a fee which neither of the interested parties would hesitate in, if they do decide to convert their interest into a real offer.
The player also reportedly has no agent, which could mean the clubs would be able to negotiate directly with the striker. Who knows, Rui Pedro might just be the next teenage Portuguese sensation to move to the Premier League and turn into one of the most exciting superstars of the footballing world.
