Defending English Premier League champions Manchester City are exploring the possibility of signing Brazilian striker Matheus Franca from Brazilian club Flamengo.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Matheus Franca de Oliveira began his football career at the Flamengo academy.
The attacker graduated from the Falmenego youth academy and made his senior team debut in 2021 against Santos. Since then, France has gradually established itself as one of the key players in the squad. He has so far won a Copa do Brasil and a Copa Libertadores da America tournament with the Brazilian club.
France also has Brazil’s under-16 team at international level. The 18-year-old Flamengo player is currently known as one of the best prodigies in the country.
Manchester City wants to sign the Brazilian prodigy
Now, according to a report by Brazilian journalist Julio Miguel Neto, Manchester City are looking to sign Brazilian striker Matheus France from Flamengo.
The report further suggests that they will then loan the Brazilian player to one of the City group teams so that he can gain more first-team experience.
Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have built one of the strongest teams in the world. they have a lot of depth at all positions, but that doesn’t stop them from signing more talented players to their roster.
Manchester City is part of the City Football Group. The consortium owns many clubs around the world. So whenever City find a youngster who needs polishing and should also get playing time, they loan him out to their sister clubs.
Matheus Franca, 18, can play multiple attacking positions. He has scored eight goals and provided three assists for Flamengo in all competitions. The Brazilian is one of the best valued youngsters in South America.
Hence, Manchester City wants to sign him. However, this is not going to be easy for them. Real Madrid, reigning UEFA Champions League champions, are also interested in the Brazilian striker. Madrid has recently discovered many Brazilian talents and wants to do more in the near future.
France recently signed a contract extension with Flamengo earlier this year. His new contract will keep him at the Brazilian club until 2027. The attacker, however, has a termination clause of 100 million euros that can be activated.
Quantity is not a big deal for City. But it will be interesting to see if they will be willing to pay that much for Franca.
