Man City hijack Arsenal transfer to land League One wonderkid in record-breaking deal

Manchester City have reportedly completed their transfer hijack of Leicester City starlet Jeremy Monga by striking a £12.5million deal.

talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook revealed last month how Arsenal had agreed a fee to sign the 16-year-old winger.

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The Gunners were previously in club-to-club contact over Monga, but withdrew from any deal after feeling the valuation was too high.

That allowed Man City to come up on the rails with confidence and work on a move.

Mikel Arteta will now be unable to resurrect any interest, with The Athletic’s David Ornstein now reporting that Man City have reached an agreement with Leicester.

It is said to be worth £12.5m in total – £10m of which will be upfront – with the Foxes also including a sell-on clause.

If all of the £2.5m add-ons are ultimately paid, it will make Monga the most expensive 16-year-old in Premier League history.

He will surpass the £12m fee Arsenal splashed on Theo Walcott in 2006, with Hannibal Mejbri’s £8.5m switch to Old Trafford in third.

Man City reach agreement to sign Monga

Enzo Maresca is behind City’s drive for Monga, having known the player from his time as Leicester head coach in the 2023-24 season.

The 46-year-old regularly watched the then-15-year-old play for the Under-21 side, before the latter made his Premier League debut under Ruud van Nistelrooy in the following campaign.

Manchester United, Leeds and Newcastle were all admirers of the teenager, as revealed by talkSPORT towards the end of last season.

However, Arsenal were largely considered the front-runners until the record fee touted for the attacker put Man City in pole position.

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Who is Jeremy Monga?

Coventry-born Monga only made his first-team debut for Leicester in April 2025 when he came on as a substitute against Newcastle.

Aged just 15 years and 271 days, he became the second-youngest player in Premier League history at the time after Ethan Nwaneri.

Monga, who is also the second-youngest player ever to turn out for Leicester, already has experience playing in the Premier League.

The seven-cap England Under-19 international made seven top-flight appearances en route to Leicester’s relegation to the Championship in the 2024/25 season.

Last season, Monga scored one goal and assisted twice in 27 matches in England’s second tier as the Foxes were relegated again.

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He became the youngest goalscorer in Championship history when he opened his senior account against Preston North End in August.

Interest from as many as eight clubs meant Monga was always set to leave the King Power Stadium this summer following the club’s second straight relegation into League One.