Vitor Reis en route to the UK to undergo Manchester City medical with immediate first-team plans revealed | OneFootball

Manchester City are on the verge of welcoming Vitor Reis to the club from Palmeiras after negotiations with Palmeiras for the teenager concluded this week.

The Brazil youth international could be one of three new defensive signings to be made by Manchester City officials this month, with Abdukodir Khusanov expected to finalise his move to the Etihad Stadium in the coming days.

The 20-year-old centre-back will become the Premier League’s first player from Uzbekistan, after Manchester City agreed upon a €40 million fee with Ligue 1 side Lens to bring the player into their roster immediately this month.

There also remains more long-term interest in the talents of Sierra Leone’s Juma Bah, who is currently excelling on a loan deal with Real Valladolid in La Liga from AIK Freetong in his home country.

But much of the focus this week has been on City’s pursuit of Vitor Reis, with a relatively straight-forward negotiation process concluding with all elements falling in favour of the Premier League champions.

Now, according to the information of The Athletic’s Sam Lee and Mario Cortegana, Reis is now en route to the UK to undergo a Manchester City medical, after the Premier League champions agreed an initial fee of £29.5 million for the defender plus bonuses.

From the viewpoint of Pep Guardiola and staff at the Etihad Stadium, the 19-year-old is reportedly viewed as a first-team signing, and while Palmeiras had originally wanted to retain the teenager for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, Reis will join City immediately.

Additional reporting from ESPN’s Adriana Garcia has confirmed that Palmeiras have not registered Reis for the 2025 Campeonato Paulista, with the defender expected to join immediately this month.

It is further detailed that the 19-year-old defender was also absent from the club’s training session on Tuesday, but was spotted at Palmeiras’ facilities saying goodbye to teammates and staff members.

Palmeiras club president, Leila Pereira spoke as recently as this week playing down the suggestion of an imminent deal with Manchester City for one of the club’s greatest-ever young talents, insisting that there would be no rush to conclude a deal.

“There was an official proposal, but we’re still negotiating. I won’t talk about prices, but there was a proposal that didn’t come to what Palmeiras want. It’s also important to clarify Vitor Reis was not for sale, we didn’t put him on the market,” Pereira told TNT Sports.

She continued, “We were approached by Manchester City due to the boy being different. I’m not in a hurry, Vitor still has a long contract, although we’re talking. If we get to a fee which is good for Palmeiras, for the athlete, and for City, OK. But for now, nothing is decided.”

Unfortunately for Leila Pereira and Palmeiras, the proposal put forward by Manchester City has proven to be too good, and as such Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff as well as the first-team squad at the club will be bolstered by the teenager very soon.