Pep Guardiola’s squad is set to be bolstered by the signing of two former Manchester United transfer targets, misteps which could further frustrate Ruben Amorim next season
Manchester City are set to complete the signing of a second former Manchester United target for a combined £70million. Pep Guardiola has already welcomed Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri into the fray, and Lyon’s Rayan Cherki now looks likely to follow suit.
Both stars have been on United’s radar in the past. After a bitterly disappointing campaign that ended with a 15th-placed Premier League finish and Europa League final heartbreak, this summer transfer window is a pivotal one for Ruben Amorim.
Matheus Cunha has already been poached from top-flight Wolves for £62.5million, having mustered 15 league goals this season. Yet another of Vitor Pereira’s stars, Algerian full-back Ait-Nouri, has chosen the sky blue side of Manchester.
He was a United target in the past, and he may not be the only star who once caught the Red Devils’ eye to head to the Etihad this window. Reports suggest French technician Cherki could be on his way to Guardiola’s side, and personal terms have already been agreed upon.
Before he made his move from Angers to Wolves in 2020, the prodigious Ait-Nouri was reportedly of interest to then-Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Contact was supposedly made between the Manchester club and Ait-Nouri’s super-agent Jorge Mendes, with whom he parted ways last month, and the teenager even flew to England to tour various training grounds, including those of United and their rivals City.
In the end, neither of the two could secure the services of a young Ait-Nouri, who joined Wolves on an initial loan deal and signed permanently in 2021 for roughly £15m. At Molineux, the 24-year-old developed into a marauding wing-back and has now been snapped up by the Cityzens in a five-year deal worth £36m, with United missing out on their former target.
One year before interest in Ait-Nouri was reported, Solskjaer also had his attention on another phenom, Lyon’s Cherki, who was only 15 at the time. The Telegraph alleged that the Norwegian head coach had set his sights on the teenager.
The Frenchman was regarded as one of Europe’s premier attacking talents at his age group. That’s why the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were all battling to sign him.
But Cherki ended up staying put. Having built up a reputation for having a rather problematic attitude, as highlighted by former coaches Fabio Grosso and Rudi Garcia, he has remained at the Groupama Stadium ever since.
That’s despite consistently being linked to top European clubs. However, that’s set to change, with Sky Sports reporting Lyon have accepted a £34m offer for Cherki from City.
Having the attacking midfielder registered before the Club World Cup has become a priority for City, while United look primed to see yet another player slip through their fingers and potentially come back to haunt them next season.
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