Manchester City have reached an “agreement” to sign New York City FC left-back Christian McFarlane, according to HITC Football.
The website claims that the Premier League champions have beaten off competition from Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid to the 17-year-old’s signature.
With New York being part of the City Football Group, it does make things a lot easier when it comes to negotiations, and McFarlane is expected to make the switch to England at the start of next year.
HITC report that the teenager has already “given his word” to the Cityzens so it is pretty unlikely that the deal will be hijacked by another team at the last minute
What do fans need to know about McFarlane?
The defender was born in the UK but he moved to the United States at a very early age. He came through NYFC’s academy before making his senior debut back in June. He came on as a substitute during the 3-2 defeat to Colombus Crew.
McFarlane has subsequently made 10 more appearances, including his first start against Chicago Fire in mid-July.
At international level, he has so far switched between featuring for England’s and the United States’ youth teams as he is eligible to play for both countries.
Why are City in a rush to snap up the defender?
On top of the fact that there is interest in McFarlane from other teams, the player turns 18 at the end of January. Due to rules put in place after Brexit, British teams can’t sign anyone from abroad below that age.
By tieing down the fullback to a senior contract at the start of next year, City can protect him from being poached in the future. It does demonstrate how highly the Manchester club rate the youngster.
