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Arsenal hit by Man City hijack of Monga signing after twist in talks
Updated: 2 Jul 2026 20:17 BST |
2 min read
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Arsenal could miss out on one of their top targets this summer, with Manchester City preparing to make an attempt to hijack a deal for Leicester wonderkid Jeremy Monga.
The Gunners have been in advanced discussions to sign Monga for a number of weeks and they believed they were in pole position to secure a deal after the 16-year-old gave his priority to joining the Premier League champions.
Monga has agreed to sign his first professional contract with Leicester when he turns 17 on 10 July, which means a fee would have to be agreed with the Foxes in order to secure a deal.
Arsenal have been deep in negotiations with Leicester over a fee of around £10 million (€11.7m) but a deal has not been struck yet, which has seemingly allowed City to make their move.
City’s interest is said to be primarily driven by new manager Enzo Maresca, who has tempted Monga by presenting his vision for the youngster, with the pair knowing each other from the Italian’s time at Leicester during the 2023/24 season.
Arsenal desperate to beat rivals to signing record-breaker Monga
Monga is rated as one of the top youngsters in England, having already been a regular figure for Leicester as they were relegated from the Championship last season.
The winger made 27 league appearances over the campaign, eight of which were starts, scoring once and grabbing two assists.
Monga had become the second-youngest player in Premier League history behind Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri when he made his debut for Leicester in April 2025 at the age of 15 and 271 days.
He then went onto become the youngest goalscorer in Championship history after netting his first senior goal against Preston in August 2025, aged 16 and 37 days.
Monga is also a regular for the England under-19s despite his tender age and his progress has attracted attention from many teams including Real Madrid, Chelsea and Brentford, leading to the chase for his signature.
