Manchester City planning move for French teenager as Manchester United enter Antoine Semenyo battle | OneFootball

Manchester City are keen on signing Troyes and France youth international Mathys Detourbet amid competition from AS Monaco and AS Monaco, as per a new report.

The Blues are expected to be active in the January 2026 transfer market as director of football Hugo Viana looks to plug further loopholes in Pep Guardiola’s squad to give the Manchester City manager further ammunition for the second half of the current campaign.

City made sweeping changes to their first-team ranks in the summer as Viana signed off on the exits of a series of senior stars past their prime and recruited seven new stars to usher in a new era at the Etihad Stadium – in the backdrop of a challenging 2024-25 season.

Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo will be available for £65 million in January as Manchester City assess their frontline and ponder upon the activation of the 25-year-old’s release clause, with Manchester United also interested in the Ghana international.

Elsewhere, Rodri’s ongoing injury mare and Mateo Kovacic’s unavailability till the spring of 2026 could tempt Manchester City to add a holding midfielder in January should Guardiola and co deem the current workload being capably shouldered by Nico Gonzalez prove too much for the Spaniard as the season progresses.

City have long been linked with the acquisition of a new right-back but Matheus Nunes’ stellar displays out of position in recent months – coupled with the option of positioning Abdukodir Khusanov in the area – could allow the Blues some leeway in postponing the signing of a natural right-back till next summer.

Amongst the current squad, Stefan Ortega Moreno will be allowed to leave the club in January should the right opportunity come his way, with Nathan Ake’s Manchester City future also in doubt amid a dearth of minutes this season and Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman ordering the centre-half to alter his club situation ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Manchester City are right on Arsenal’s heels in the Premier League title race and have arguably punched above their weight in overturning their fortunes in recent months. Viana could therefore be tempted to build on his summer revamp by introducing further changes in the squad as the Blues vie for silverware at the end of the season.

As reported by Santi Aouna, City are interested in signing ESTAC Troyes and France youth winger Mathys Detourbet and have provided a ‘precise career trajectory plan’ to the 18-year-old, who is also attracting interest from AS Roma and AS Monaco.

Guardiola is keen to add goalscoring wingers to his squad in January owing to a worrying over-reliance from the squad on Erling Haaland, who has all but single-handedly shouldered the club’s goalscoring burden so far this term to keep Manchester City fighting in the Premier League title race and the UEFA Champions League group-stages.

City’s interest in Semenyo is also being led by Guardiola, who could be without Omar Marmoush for as long as six weeks after the Egyptian’s departure for the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations this week. Jeremy Doku is also out injured until the New Year, with the Blues desperate for reinforcements out wide

City’s links to Troyes – owing to the latter’s majority shareholding owned by the City Football Group – will no doubt hand executives at the Etihad Stadium a strong negotiating hand when it comes to Detourbet, who could soon be following Savinho’s footsteps and join the former Troyes star at the Etihad Stadium.