Man City secure Prem defender in £33.7m transfer but next move will cost them ‘double’
Manchester City have seemingly landed their second signing of the summer, as transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has confirmed their agreement to sign a Premier League defender for £33.7million.
City are moving quickly to get a number of summer signings done before the Club World Cup. The tournament begins on June 15, with the window open for signings before then.
The snare of Tijjani Reijnders has already been confirmed. Indeed, Romano stated that City had a verbal agreement in place to land the AC Milan midfielder for €70million (£58.9m).
Not long after that, the insider suggested that City were ‘advancing’ on signing No 2, with Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri having already given the green light to the move.
Though Liverpool have been interested in him, of late it’s been thought that the Citizens are best placed to land the left-back.
And now they have, as Romano has given his famous ‘here we go’ stamp to confirm that the move is done.
The insider states that the club-to-club deal has been agreed, for a total fee ‘close to’ €40million (£33.7m). He also states that Ait-Nouri’s medical is set to take place on Sunday.
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That is just a week before the Club World Cup kicks off, so the left-back will have a small amount of time as a City player before the action fully gets underway.
City’s potential progression in the tournament with some new players in the squad could be the barometer for how they’ll do in the coming Premier League season.
They finished third in the Premier League last season, after winning it in each of the four campaigns prior.
There is a clear desire to sort transfers before the Club World Cup, with a move for Rayan Cherki also advancing quickly. Personal terms are thought to have been agreed with the French attacker, so that signing will likely be done soon, too.
But David Ornstein has suggested that previous reports on his price tag are incorrect.
He said on The Athletic FC Podcast: “Lyon are in a position where there’s only a year left on his contract. Finances are not in the best shape there. There were reports of a release clause at €25m.
“That’s not true to my knowledge. Perhaps there was some understanding that he could go for that sort of amount. But that doesn’t ring true in terms of what’s actually happening now.
“Because Lyon are demanding a negotiation and want to sort of double that price. Or certainly far higher. So, Manchester City have made the most concerted efforts to sign him.”
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