Manchester City fans have spotted a transfer clause that could effectively see Manchester United provide most of the fee they are close to agreeing for Ferran Torres.
City are hoping to complete the initial £21m deal for Valencia winger Torres in their first major signing of the summer. While the priority remains a central defender, bringing in a replacement for Leroy Sane at under half the price they received for the German is very good business.
Meanwhile, United continue to target Borussia Dortmund's former City winger Jadon Sancho, with reports stating that the Bundesliga side will hold out for around €120m (£108m).
Sancho left City for Dortmund in 2017 for £8m, with the Blues holding a 15 per cent sell-on clause for any profit made over that £8m fee. If United were to pay the reported asking price, City could earn around £15m from the deal.
Sancho and Torres are both 20-year-old right-wingers, and while Sancho boasts a better record in front of goal, they both have around two years of first-team experience and have played in the Champions League. Except one player could be worth around £80m less.
Naturally, City fans were impressed at the fee that their club could pay for Torres, and it did not escape their attention that United could contribute a large portion of Torres' fee.
Should the deal be completed, Torres would become the first major signing of the transfer window for the Blues. Pep Guardiola is also hoping to add at least one centre-back to his squad - having seen his team suffer over the past year from the failure to replace Vincent Kompany and a serious injury to Aymeric Laporte - as well as potentially strengthening in a few other areas.
A deal to sign Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake is nearing completion.
