Manchester City have reached an agreement to sign Arsenal youngster Mishel Nduka, with the player leaving the Gunners after less than 12 months.
David Ornstein reports for The Athletic that Manchester City have reached an agreement to sign Mishel Nduka, with the player turning down a new deal to stay at Arsenal.
The 16-year-old will join City on scholarship terms, with a professional contract to follow, and he’s set to undergo a medical imminently.
Ornstein reports that Arsenal had offered Nduka a ‘highly competitive’ long-term contract, but it seems that wasn’t enough.
Isaan Khan had reported for the Daily Mail earlier this month that Nduka was set to sign for City, less than a year after joining the Gunners from Charlton Athletic.
Youth contracts are only short term, so the Gunners were already in a position of needing to extend his deal again.
With older players, a big transfer fee would usually be accompanied by a long contract, avoiding these kinds of scenarios. But that’s not possible in academy football, for good reason. A 14-year-old shouldn’t be signing away half a decade of their young footballing career.
16-year-old Nduka made 10 appearances for the Arsenal u18s in 2025/26, as well as making his UEFA Youth League debut and making a couple of appearances for the u21s in the Premier League 2.
There can be no suggestions that Arsenal didn’t give the youngster chances way above his age group, but it wasn’t enough to convince him to stay.
The player also made seven appearances for the England u16s, having previously been involved with the u15s, with the national team recognising his progress at club level.
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