Why Real Madrid should sign Nuno Mendes

According to The Sun, Real Madrid are ready to make a move for the highly-rated Nuno Mendes of Sporting CP. The Portuguese wonderkid has attracted the attention of elite clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan and Juventus. Sporting have held a £62million release clause but that valuation is yet to take effect as his current release cause stands at £41million.

Profile

Nuno Mendes is an 18-year-old Portuguese left-back who plays for Liga NOS side, Sporting Lisbon. He started his youth career at Despertar in 2010 but moved to Sporting a year later. Since then, he has progressed through various age groups before stepping up to the senior team. He featured 17 times for the U-23s, scoring once and providing 3 assists.

So far, he has made just 19 appearances and scored a goal for Sporting but has managed to impress everyone. Capable of playing as a left or right-sided centre-back too, Mendes is a very versatile player. A regular part of the Portugal youth setup, he has played a total of 16 games across various age groups. He is currently a part of the U-21s.

Nuno Mendes can be one for the future at Real Madrid

Gone are the days when Marcelo used to bomb down the left flank and put in a dangerous cross for the striker to finish. The veteran Brazilian looks to be on his last legs at the club and has not been helped by the club struggling as a whole.

While he was never the finest defender, his inadequacies were masked by his outstanding attacking prowess. Now as the team is slowly showing cracks, Real are trying to phase out Marcelo and give more time to Ferland Mendy.

That leaves Real Madrid with the task of finding another left-back who can play understudy to Mendy and compete with him. Nuno Mendes represents one such player who they can push for. The Portuguese has become one of Europe’s most coveted youngsters in recent months with his performances for Sporting.

His versatility means that he can be used on the other flank and also in central defence. He will be competing with Mendy for the left-back spot and it could be a healthy competition that pushes both these promising defenders to perform better.

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Los Blancos would be wise enough to snap him up when the chance presents itself. Securing a talented defender at such a young age is good sense. He can go on to become a great player at the club in due time.