Man Utd run into Jorge Mendes complication in Alex Telles transfer pursuit

Manchester United have encountered a stumbling block in their transfer pursuit of Alex Telles - due to Jorge Mendes.

The Red Devils are interested in a move for the Porto left-back as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to strengthen his defence.

But they are determined not to spend over the odds this summer whilst Porto do not want to be short-changed.

And Mendes is one of several parties due a hefty cut of any fee for Telles, adding a layer of complication to proceedings.

Mendes is involved in the deal as an intermediary, as he was when the Red Devils signed Bruno Fernandes from Porto in January.

According to Correio da Manha, Mendes and Telles’ agent, Pini Zahavi, will split a 15% share of any potential deal.

And with former club Galatasaray also entitled to 10% of any transfer fee, Porto are facing losing 25% of the fee.

They are trying to make up that shortfall, meaning they need a €27m transfer fee from United to net the €20m they want for Telles.

United, however, do not want to give in to those demands despite claims the player has already agreed in principle a five-year deal worth €4m per season.

United paid a total of €5.5million (£4.61m) to intermediaries in the deal in the Bruno Fernandes deal.

That amount ended up being split between Mendes' Gestifute agency and PositionNumber, the agency which represents Bruno Fernandes via his brother-in-law, Miguel Pinho.

With similar fees looking to be passed on to United by Porto, the two clubs are locked in talks to try and agree a deal.

Telles is expected to play for Porto this weekend against Boavista, despite claims in Portugal that talks were intensified after United’s defeat to Crystal Palace.

Whilst Porto are open to sell for the right price, they are in no rush and happy for talks to drag on closer to the October 5 deadline as they wait for United to make an acceptable move.