By David Cartlidge (@davidjaca)

It’s been monikered the ‘Jorge Mendes Derby’ and it’s not difficult to see why - 16 players are tied to the agent across both Valencia and Monaco, and that's not counting a manager and other staff. While there is a tinge of humour in the label of the game, for both clubs the matter of the super agent is entirely serious.

The Spanish side are in the process of ticking off the boxes concerning their project helmed by Singapore businessman Peter Lim, with Mendes not so much in the background - but foreground. The feeling from the fans is split, some are simply delighted to see their club taken seriously again, others are suggesting it’s actually been taken hostage. 

The departure this summer of Amadeo Salvo as President, plus several technical staff, key in the development of the club since Lim’s takeover, further fuelled the concerns of the latter set of supporters. “It’s Mendes’ club now” say some former players, and while there may be an exaggeration in that, the level of influence appears to be at times dizzying. 

Now, on the eve of the game, one of Valencia’s most important in recent history, it’s another Mendes client in the form of Nicolas Otamendi that is taking the spotlight. The Argentinean has managed to force his way out of the club, and in the process make several figures at Valencia look rather asinine after backing down on their initial stance of first “no sale”, to “nothing less than the clause”.

Otamendi is in Manchester completing his move to City, for €5m less than the figure stipulated in his contract. The situation with the centre-back is nothing new, everyone was aware of it for some time, but Valencia’s actions on the eve of this game suggest from a football perspective they’ve been naive. Why now - on the even of a game that could be a definition point for the club?

Monaco meanwhile, while still in cahoots with Mendes, have switched up the ideology of their own project. Gone are the star names, with only Joao Moutinho remaining, and instead the nucleus is young talent. The likes of Layvin Kurzawa, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva and Anthony Martial are whom the club is built upon now, instead of big money buys James Rodriguez and Falcao. 

In Leonardo Jardim too they have a youthful coach of which big things are expected of after handling the fallout from the old Monaco project with excellent results. 

Again, there has been more sales this summer. Again, Jardim will be asked to extract all he can from young players despite knowing the ultimate goal will probably be to make a profit on them in a year or two. 

Jardim’s own aspirations coupled with his hungry group of young players, they will fancy themselves. Just as everyone wrote them off last season before facing Arsenal, only to produce a stunning display of defensive organisation and counter attacking football. Valencia could well be set to experience the same.

Should they, the walls could well crumble even quicker than they already do at Mestalla. Nuno Espirito Santo was booed on the way into his press conference this week for his own allegiance to Mendes - a sign of the tension cranking up at a club not short on division in recent years. 

Still, tickets were announced as sold out on Tuesday, a sign support would not waiver for a club that existed before Mendes, and will do so long after he’s gone.