Report: City nearing Bertrand swoop; Mendy agreement some way off

Manchester City is closing in on signing Southampton's Ryan Bertrand as negotiations drag on with Monaco over his fellow left-back Benjamin Mendy, reports Sky Sports News HQ.

It's understood Bertrand and Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker could be on City's books within the next two weeks. Both are currently with England's national team ahead of a World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Saturday and a friendly with France three days later.

If he moves to the northwest, Bertrand's pay packet is expected to bloat to more than double the £55,000 he currently takes home each week on the south coast.

The full-back positions are a priority in the transfer market for Pep Guardiola this summer after three members of the ageing contingent that filled those roles for him this year - Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, and Bacary Sagna - left at the end of the season. That leaves left-sided Aleksandar Kolarov, 31, and promising 19-year-old right-back Pablo Maffeo as Guardiola's only natural options on either side of a back four.

The Spanish manager remains a fan of Mendy, who helped Monaco overcome City in the Champions League Round of 16 in March, but the two clubs are still in the early stages of talks after the Ligue 1 outfit slapped a £40-million price tag on the 22-year-old.