Report: Monaco rejects City's £44.5M bid for Benjamin Mendy

The Benjamin Mendy saga continues.

Monaco spurned Manchester City's £44.5-million (€50-million) bid for its coveted left-back, Sky Sports' Bryan Swanson reports, citing the Premier League club's £50-million swoop for Kyle Walker as somewhere nearer the mark.

Chelsea is monitoring the situation closely, The Daily Mail's Matt Darlow added.

City is desperately trying to address the full-back positions in the summer transfer window after right-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna, and left-back Gael Clichy, left at the end of the season. Walker is expected to compete with Real Madrid's Danilo on the right-hand side, but Aleksandar Kolarov's claims on the left are still untroubled.

Pep Guardiola's side has been pursuing Mendy for some time, and the Frenchman fuelled speculation that he was moving over the English Channel when he was pictured in Union Jack shorts on holiday, accompanied by the caption: "See you soon." He was one of many breakout stars of the 2016-17 Monaco alumni, and shone against Manchester City in the Champions League Round of 16.

Another possible left-back capture for City is Ryan Bertrand, the Chelsea academy graduate who's at Southampton after initially joining on loan in 2014. City is apparently willing to more than double Bertrand's £55,000-a-week wages to tempt him to the Etihad Stadium.