A major update has emerged on Manchester City striker Lukas Nmecha regarding where he might be playing his football next season.
What's the talk?
According to Het Nieuwsblad, RB Leipzig are on the verge of securing an £8.5m (€10m) deal to sign the 22-year-old. The Bundesliga outfit are keen on snapping up the Germany under-21 international and have agreed on a fee with City to bring him over to the Bundesliga.
Nmecha has one year left on his current contract at Manchester City and spent last season on loan with Anderlecht in Belgium. Their manager, City legend Vincent Kompany, praised the striker during his loan spell in Belgium, hailing him as a “complete” centre-forward.
He told HLN, as transcribed by Manchester Evening News: “Of course, he still has room for improvement, but actually he is already a quite complete striker. He does not have any noticeable weaknesses.
“At the moment he is already one of the best strikers in Belgium."
Fans will be frustrated
Manchester City fans will likely be frustrated by this news given the state of the club's strikeforce as it stands. Pep Guardiola is currently heading into next season with Gabriel Jesus as his only natural centre-forward option, with Sergio Aguero leaving on a free transfer to join Ronald Koeman's Barcelona. Guardiola also showed his lack of faith in Jesus as a starter as he deployed Kevin de Bruyne as a false nine ahead of him in the Champions League final, which they lost to Chelsea.
This suggests that City are in desperate need of a revamp at the top end of the pitch in the summer transfer window to offer the manager some fresh options. Txiki Begiristain needs to provide Guardiola with strikers to bolster his squad and this is where Nmecha could have made an impact at the Etihad Stadium.
He enjoyed a terrific campaign with Anderlecht and Germany's under-21s, scoring 21 goals for the Belgian club before winning the Golden Boot at the European Under-21 Championship and scoring the winner in the final, suggesting that he could have the quality to make an impact in the Premier League.
Despite the 22-year-old's impressive form for club and country, Txiki is cashing in on the £8.5m beast early in the window. The City chief could be heading for a disaster with this decision as Nmecha has not even been given the chance to show Guardiola the improvements he has made in his game. All three of his first team appearances at the Etihad came in the 2017/18 season and amounted to 46 minutes in total (Transfermarkt).
City could have benefitted from giving Nmecha a chance to shine in pre-season so that he could stake a claim for a place in the squad. This is why their fans may be frustrated by this news, as a talented young player is being sold without being given the opportunity to prove himself.
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