Man City expect Liverpool transfer target to sign new Etihad Stadium contract | OneFootball

A breakthrough appears to have arrived in Manchester City’s intense pursuit of a contractual agreement with one of the club’s very best young talents.

Inside the City Football Academy (CFA), decision-makers have faced a challenge in trying to protect one of their most highly-rated teenage prospects from numerous approaches from rivals clubs in English football and further afield.

Rival clubs have seemingly recognised the immense battle that currently separates academy stars from Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad, using their own fast-track senior pathways to turn the heads of elite teenagers.

However, from the perspective of those at City, losing a player of ‘generational’ potential to a direct rival could risk unsettling the longer-term competitive balance at the top of the Premier League.

Man City set to retain Xavier Parker

Now, according to The Secret Scout, Manchester City are expecting highly-rated and sought-after Academy talent Xavier Parker to sign new contract after formal talks on Tuesday morning.

It is further highlighted that Liverpool’s hierarchy had identified the 16-year-old as the next emerging talent within the game, but retaining the young forward will be seen as a ‘huge bonus’ for those at the Etihad Stadium.

How have Man City persuaded Parker?

It has been reported that sporting director Hugo Viana and Academy director Thomas Krücken tore up their youth wage boundaries to offer Parker a record-breaking contract proposal – shattering previous financial benchmarks for an academy scholar.

As the London-born midfielder cannot officially sign his first professional contract until he reaches his 17th birthday in May 2027, Manchester City’s hierarchy may have used the latest round of talks to secure a pre-contractual commitment.

This strategy successfully locks him down against a reported contingent of nine elite European suitors, including Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea from within the Premier League in addition to Liverpool, as well as Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.