We are out of the race for Jeremy Monga. Fabrizio Romano confirmed on July 3, 2026 that Manchester City have reached an agreement with Leicester City to sign the 16-year-old winger, ending weeks of Arsenal interest in one of the country's most highly rated academy prospects.

Romano posted that City's deal is worth a package of around £10 million, in place on both the club and player side pending completion. The move was driven by new City manager Enzo Maresca, who worked with Monga during his time in charge at Leicester and personally presented his project to the player and his family.

We had been in talks with Leicester for more than a month and were considered the frontrunners for Monga's signature through the early part of the summer. According to Ben Jacobs, Leicester's asking price sat between £10 million and £12 million, while our most recent offer was closer to £6.5 million. Romano has since reported that we formally told Leicester and Monga's representatives this week that we would not be increasing that bid.

Monga made his Leicester debut in April 2025 at 15 years and 271 days old, the third-youngest player in Premier League history behind Max Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri, and was a regular for the Foxes in the Championship last season as they were relegated to League One. He is expected to complete his move to the Etihad Stadium once formalities with Leicester are finished.

The loss continues a pattern from this summer, in which we have moved cautiously on academy-age targets while City have shown greater willingness to meet asking prices for players not yet ready for first-team football. Andrea Berta's recruitment focus for the senior squad remains Morgan Rogers.