Manchester City close in on signing of New York City’s Christian McFarlane

Redaction Simon Brett with Freddie Pye
Published on 2024-07-29 14:56:56

Manchester City are in the final stages of signing left-back Christian McFarlane to develop him in the City Football Academy and potentially integrate him into the first team. The club has been monitoring McFarlane’s progress for several years, both in the USA and England. Manchester City had previously invited McFarlane to their training base and discussed a potential move to the club in 2024 after rejected moves to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

McFarlane signed his first professional contract with New York City FC at just 14 years old, becoming the third youngest player to sign a Major League Soccer contract. He made his professional debut with NYCFC II and now Manchester City is closing in on a deal to bring him to the Etihad Stadium. The 17-year-old defender has turned down bids from Brighton & Hove Albion and German clubs to join the Manchester City project.

While Manchester City already have left-back options in Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol, they believe McFarlane could provide a more traditional defensive solution to develop within the squad. McFarlane has represented both England and the United States at international youth level and recently made his England U17 debut. It remains to be seen how Manchester City plans to integrate McFarlane into their team.

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