From Fabrizio Romano: English midfielder set to join Man City following West Ham exit

Manchester City are set to sign England under-17 international midfielder Divine Mukasa after he left West Ham United, reports Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

A long-term deal has been agreed and it is expected to be formally sealed before Friday.

Man City are looking to build their youth teams for the future and have identified Mukasa as a huge potential after he displayed his talents in the West Ham academy.

The teenage sensation officially confirmed his exit from West Ham in July, following the likes of Harrison Ashby, Sonny Perkins, Aji Alese and Jamal Baptiste out of the club as the Hammers kept losing plenty of young players over the past year.

Baptiste joined Man City earlier in the summer after training with their under-21s following his Hammers exit, and Mukasa is now set to join his former West Ham academy teammate.

That is according to the information of transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who reports that Manchester City are now ‘poised to sign’ England under-17 midfielder Divine Mukasa from West Ham, having reached an agreement over a long-term deal with the player and his team.

“(Manchester) City keep going for the best talents as their Academy remains a crucial part of the club’s project,” Fabrizio Romano explained as part of his report.

The pending signing of Mukasa from West Ham follows the path taken by Jamal Baptise earlier this summer, with the 2003-born central defender having joined the project in east Manchester from the London Stadium’s youth academy.

Divine Mukasa and Jamal Baptise are not the only youth players to have made the switch from West Ham to Manchester City, with that path having first been taken in recent times by Josh Wilson-Esbrand in 2019.

The England youth international left-back is highly-rated at the Etihad Stadium, and is currently plying his trade and developing his game in France’s Ligue 1, on a season-long loan with Stade de Reims.