According to the Daily Mail’s Isaan Khan, City have won the race to sign 16-year-old midfielder Mishel Nduka, who spent just one season at Arsenal after joining from Charlton last September. It follows City’s £10m agreement for Leicester winger Jeremy Monga, a deal that also came at Arsenal’s expense after the Gunners’ initial interest failed to progress.
Nduka’s departure looks to stem from the same pattern that shaped the Monga pursuit: Arsenal wanted to keep him, but a gap in his contract terms opened the door for other clubs to move. City, according to the report via CityXtra, have been the ones to act on it.
His time at Arsenal was limited but not without promise. Nduka made ten appearances for the club’s Under-18s in the Premier League, two for the Premier League 2 side, and featured once in the UEFA Youth League. He has also represented England at Under-16 level, making seven appearances and totalling 444 minutes for the young Three Lions.
For City, it continues a summer in which the club’s recruitment has stretched well beyond the headline arrival of Elliot Anderson. Director of football Hugo Viana has overseen a string of academy additions alongside the club’s senior business, with Enzo Maresca’s first transfer window at the Etihad taking shape across every level of the squad.
Whether Nduka progresses through City’s academy pathway in the way Monga is expected to remains to be seen. But losing a second highly-rated teenager to the same rival inside a matter of days will be an uncomfortable pattern for Arsenal to watch develop.
