Manchester City set to rival Arsenal and Chelsea in transfer race for “terrific” midfield talent | OneFootball

Premier League champions Manchester City are reportedly set to rival the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea in the race to sign a “terrific” midfield talent.

The Cityzens have started the new and ongoing Premier League season brilliantly, winning all four of their opening Premier League games, whilst accompanying their winning tally with silverware through the FA Community Shield

Pep Guardiola and his Etihad Stadium recruitment officials were relatively quiet during the recent summer transfer window, signing just Savinho and bringing Ilkay Gundogan back to the club on a free transfer.

But the Premier League champions’ monitoring of youth talent to continue their staggering run of success across the game into the future is ongoing, with a new report pointing towards the second tier of English football as an area of interest.

That is according to a new report from TBR Football journalist Graeme Bailey, who claims that Manchester City are among a group of Premier League clubs looking closely at Stoke City’s “terrific” youngster, Souleymane Sidibe.

The 17-year-old talent is a central midfielder and has already pushed his way into the EFL Championship side’s first-team squad, starting four games so far this season in a period of managerial transition for the club.

The teenage prospect made his first-team debut for The Potters against Rotherham United back in August 2023, becoming the club’s third-youngest player of all-time at just 16 years and 176 days old.

The report from TBR Football also states that Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal, and Chelsea are among those keen to rival Manchester City for the teenager.

It was added that Manchester City are one of the clubs that have sent scouts to watch Sidibe this season, in a common theme for the Premier League giants in recent weeks, having also monitored a number of UEFA Champions League fixtures via scouting officials.

A young midfield signing like this would make sense for the club, with both Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan entering the latter years of their top-level professional careers. Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala has also been linked to potentially replace City’s Belgian maestro.

Yet, with the likes of Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic, Rodri and Mateus Nunes at the club, there is certainly no rush to bring new players straight into the first-team picture, and so a young talent like Sidibe could work well.