Palmeiras boss warns Manchester City they must pay top price for winger Allan

Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira has issued a direct warning to Manchester City that they will not land winger Allan Elias on the cheap, as the Premier League club push to complete a deal in the final days of the transfer window.

City are pursuing the 22-year-old Brazilian as a replacement for Savinho and have been encouraged that Palmeiras would be open to a sale. However, the club are holding firm on their valuation. Allan’s contract contains a €100m release clause, and while City are hoping to agree a fee for considerably less than half that figure, Ferreira made clear after Sunday’s match against Vasco da Gama that the player’s versatility commands a premium.

“These teams want a player like Allan because 90 per cent of wingers don’t do what he does, which is attack and defend. They’re going to have to pay. I know how Manchester City plays,” Ferreira said. “At Chelsea, there’s a player named Pedro Neto: if they want to go after him, they’re going to have to pay 100 million euros.”

Ferreira went further in outlining what makes Allan a rare commodity. “Top teams don’t buy half a player, they buy players who attack and defend. When one comes along who can track back the entire time, play as a right-back, slot into a back three out wide and drift inside for rotations, everyone wants that kind of player. But you have to educate them, develop them and, if necessary, lose a few games along the way.”

Separately, City have agreed a fee with Lille for midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi in a deal worth £85m (€100m), matching the French club’s asking price from the outset. The signing represents another significant outlay as City reshape their squad following the departures of Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Tijjani Reijnders.