Manchester City fighting Barcelona over Arsenal midfielder after Kevin De Bruyne exit | OneFootball

Manchester City and Barcelona are in the race to sign highly-rated Arsenal academy midfielder Max Dowman this summer, as per a new report.

Hugo Viana is taking over as Manchester City’s director of football from Txiki Begiristain as the club eye four to five first-team signings after finishing third in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign and crashing out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage.

Pep Guardiola’s side were also beaten in the FA Cup final and the Catalan has admitted the previous campaign was the most difficult year of his managerial career – ahead of what will be a crucial few months of restructuring the squad to go compete on all fronts next term.

Manchester City have reached a total agreement to sign Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan and remain in negotiations for Lyon’s Rayan Cherki and Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri to get majority of their transfer business done before the FIFA Club World Cup.

Etihad Stadium officials are keen on adding a right-back after telling Kyle Walker he has no future at the club as the Sheffield-born defender enters the final 12 months of his contract, with Manchester City looking to move on the former club captain six months on from him leaving for AC Milan on loan.

Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has been reported to be of interest in the Manchester City boardroom but as the 2023 treble winners near the acquisitions of Cherki and Reijnders, it is now believed that Gibbs-White is more likely to stay put at Forest.

Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno have been told to stay at Manchester City into the new season by Guardiola but the goalkeeper duo – both entering the final 12 months of their respective deals – are open to leaving and have attracted interest from Saudi Arabia and Germany respectively.

Jack Grealish is set to be left out of Manchester City’s Club World Cup squad to aid his search for a new club to bolster his chances of making Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with City’s record signing struggling for fitness and game time in the last two seasons at the Etihad Stadium.

As per Steve Kay reporting for Football Transfers, Manchester City are looking to bolster their academy ranks as they step up interest in Arsenal midfielder Max Dowman, who is also being monitored by Barcelona.

City and Barcelona have made preliminary enquiries for the 15-year-old, who is seen a guaranteed first-team star in the years to come at Hale End as Arsenal look to keep hold of their academy gem following a quick rise as one of England’s brightest young talents.

Manchester City view Dowman as a prospect who can trod the path taken by Phil Foden – from the academy into Pep Guardiola’s first-team – but Arsenal are relaxed about the situation and remain confident of keeping hold of the England U-15 international.

Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have come through the Hale End academy and are now popular members of Mikel Arteta’s first-team in north London, with Dowman having three prime role models who have stayed patient and secured their chances at the club under Arteta.