Manchester City close in on £10 million deal for Leicester City winger – Arsenal withdraw from race

Manchester City close in on £10 million deal for Leicester City winger – Arsenal withdraw from race Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca is using his knowledge of Leicester’s talent to spearhead an opportunistic hijack for a wing talent. Despite extensive discussions, Arsenal have opted to walk away from the table for Jeremy Monga after deciding that the valuation of a deal was too steep. The Foxes have protected their financial position by agreeing to a £10 million compromise. Enzo Maresca and Manchester City are closing in on the signing of highly-rated Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga, beating Arsenal to his signature in the process. Following a bruising campaign that saw Leicester hit with a six-point deduction for breaching profitability and sustainability rules , the Foxes suffered relegation to League One – marking their first descent into the third tier of English football since the 2008/09 season. This drop has arguably compromised Leicester’s ability to protect their best young assets, exposing their academy setup to bids from the Premier League’s top clubs looking to secure elite homegrown talent. Historically, the East Midlands club have maintained a relatively iron-clad record of nurturing and retaining starlets, but the shifting financial tides have initiated a frustrating drain of talent previously evidenced by Trey Nyoni’s switch to Liverpool and Tyrese Noubissie’s move to the Etihad Stadium . Man City beat Arsenal to Jeremy Monga Now, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein , Manchester City are working to complete a deal for Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga for a fee in the region of £10 million, with the two clubs in direct contact and a move described as ‘close’. As for long-standing reported interest from Arsenal , who were also in club-to-club contact with those at Leicester, officials at the Emirates Stadium felt the valuation was ‘too high’ and withdrew themselves from the pursuit. Interestingly, newly-appointed Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca is said to have been behind the club’s intensified drive for the teenager, having known the 16-year-old from his time as Leicester head coach in the 2023/24 season. The rapid rise of Jeremy Monga Monga’s rapid ascent into senior men’s football has involved a Premier League debut against Newcastle United in April 2025 at just 15 years and 271 days old, making him the third-youngest player to feature in the competition. The teenager accumulated seven cameo appearances at the tail end of that top-flight campaign before making a further 30 senior appearances during the challenging 2025/26 season in the Championship. On July 10 last year, Jeremy Monga committed to a one-year scholarship agreement that was structured to automatically convert into a full professional contract upon his upcoming 17th birthday. Securing such terms legally barred elite suitors from poaching the player for a minor compensation tribunal fee, now forcing Manchester City to head directly to the negotiating table with a formal eight-figure bid. With paperwork moving into its final stages, the England youth international will arrive at the Etihad Stadium and City Football Academy as a developmental asset likely to be embedded into the club’s Under-18 or Elite Development Squad rosters.