Manchester City are closing on a deal for Monaco fullback Benjamin Mendy.
The Sun says Mendy has been left out of the Monaco squad as Manchester City intensify talks to land the France left-back.
The Ligue 1 champions rate the 23-year-old in the same price bracket as City's new £50 million right-back Kyle Walker.
But Monaco dropped another hint they expect to lose Mendy by omitting him from their trip to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
Etihad chief Pep Guardiola began the summer chasing at least two full-backs.
But Spurs have rebuffed any City hopes of Danny Rose following fellow England team-mate Walker from White Hart Lane to City.
So Guardiola is unlikely to back down in his pursuit of Mendy, who missed Monaco's recent tour of Switzerland due to injury.
Source: tribalfootball.com