Manchester City are currently in the midst of a rebuild which they will hope will launch another glorious era at the Etihad Stadium.
The club has signed a host of exciting players in recent months, such as Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez.
In addition, Manchester City have promoted several top talents to the first-team, such as Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee.
Now, Brazilian football journalist Jorge Nicola has spoken about a player in City’s ranks who the club is “betting a lot on” in terms of his development and future.
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Manchester City ‘betting a lot’ on Vitor Reis development and future
Nicola took to his YouTube channel this week to address speculation linking Vitor Reis with a loan move to Flamengo.
Reis joined City from Palmeiras in the January transfer window for a fee worth around £30million, but he hasn’t had much game time since arriving.
The 19-year-old has just three appearances to his name, of which two have come in the FA Cup.
This has led to speculation linking Reis with a temporary return to Brazil, but Nicola has played down these reports.
“I contacted someone from Vitor Reis’ staff to find out if the possibility of returning to Brazil is at least being studied, speculated, and if Flamengo has made an inquiry,” he said.
“That Flamengo is looking for a defender, that is real.
“About Vitor Reis I was not able to confirm with anyone at Flamengo about the interest in this athlete, but it is possible to rule out that Manchester City would agree to negotiate for him with Brazilian or South American teams.
“If he does not stay there, he will gain experience and experience in another team in European football, especially because at Manchester City, they are betting a lot on the development and future of this player.
“So, you, red-black fan who got excited about this idea, there is no reason for that.”
How Vitor Reis fared in his two City starts so far
Reis is one of several exciting young talents who have signed for City this year, but he only has two starts to his name so far, both in the FA Cup.
His debut came in the fourth-round meeting with Leyton Orient and, while he showed some composure, it was clear that his side was being targeted.
As such, he struggled against Charlie Kelman and Pep Guardiola ended up taking him off at half-time.
Reis was much improved in City’s win over Plymouth, looking comfortable in possession and dealing with the Pilgrims’ aerial threat well.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout previously compared Reis to Ruben Dias and Cristian Romero, and City will be eager for him to get to those levels in the coming years.
Khusanov recently claimed that Reis had already become his best friend at City.
