Recent reports from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (as cited by The Sun) state that Manchester United’s pursuit of Nuno Mendes is far from over as Ole Gunnar Solksjaer looks keen on signing the 18-year-old wonder kid from Sporting Lisbon in the coming months.
The media outlet further added that United will face fierce competition from some top European clubs like Inter Milan, Liverpool, Juventus and Real Madrid as they have been keeping tabs on his development for a long time now.
Mendes was reportedly offered as a part of the deal that saw Bruno Fernandes join United this January, but Ole turned it down. The prodigious left-back has made his breakthrough at the Portuguese club this season, having kept five clean sheets in his last ten appearances for the Green and Whites. Besides, Mendes has won four caps for Portugal’s U21 team and has a release clause of £40m.
Scouting Nuno Mendes: What Makes The 18-Year-Old So Special?
Having come through the ranks at Sporting CP, Nuno Mendes made his professional debut in June this year thus becoming the second-youngest player to appear for Sporting behind Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo. A string of commendable performances followed, and it saw him emerge as his side’s first-choice left-back ahead of the 2020/21 season.
The Portuguese youngster has managed to put up some impressive numbers on the board this season, both defensively and offensively – averaging 1.8 tackles, 3.1 interceptions, 0.9 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per 90 minutes. Nuno’s ability to understand certain in-game situations is far beyond his years, especially when he’s going forward. Besides winning the ball using his sheer strength and power, Nuno doesn’t refrain from bursting forward to dribble past the opposition players and put in threatening crosses into the box.
While the youngster’s technique and ball control can be tagged as ‘above-average’, his powerful runs make him a highly advantageous asset as he adds a new dimension to his team’s attack. Last but not least, Nuno’s versatility makes him more appealing. He can fill in the conventional left-back and left-sided centre-back positions as well as the contemporary left wing-back position.
The Right Fit For Ole?
The Norwegian tactician has plenty of options to choose from when it comes to the left-back spot – summer signing Alex Telles, Luke Shaw, and academy graduate Brandon Williams being some of them. Signing another player to fill in the same position doesn’t make much sense given the current circumstances.
Moreover, Sporting doesn’t seem convinced with the idea of Nuno leaving the Primeira Liga side so early on in his career as a result of which the board is reportedly preparing a vastly improved contract for him.
Having said that, it remains to be seen if the Red Devils decide to get the highly-rated youngster on board, perhaps signing him for the ‘future’ makes some sense.
(Stats from WhoScored)
