Manchester City agree to sign Tottenham player, ‘deal to be announced within hours’
Manchester City are as determined to make amends for last season as Tottenham.
The Cityzens finished 14 places above Spurs in the Premier League, but ended the season without a major piece of silverware for the first time since Pep Guardiola’s first year in charge of City.
Their squad seemed to age suddenly, which the Lilywhites took full advantage of by beating them twice in the space of a month, both in the league and the Carabao Cup.
It was the start of the Blues’ freefall. However, they managed to turn it around and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Guardiola has wasted no time in making significant signings for City, who now look set to poach a player from Tottenham.
City agree to sign Dexter Oliver from Spurs
There has been an increased focus on the academy in North London, with Tottenham recently announcing new additions to the Under-18s squad.
Among those promoted was goalkeeper Farren Doran, who Spurs signed from Manchester City earlier this month.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano (16 July), the Sky Blues are now set to even the score as they have agreed a deal for Spurs youngster Dexter Oliver to join the former treble winners.
An agreement for the 16-year-old, who has predominantly played in the centre of the park, both as a box-to-box and attacking midfielder, is expected to be announced within 48 hours, and an announcement could follow soon after.
Part of the reason Tottenham may have been willing to let Oliver leave is the emergence of Luca Williams-Barnett, for whom Spurs have very high hopes and who plays in a similar position.
Williams-Barnett scored 22 goals and registered 13 assists last season in the same age category.
City’s academy is model for Spurs
While Tottenham’s facilities have been upgraded more recently than City’s, they are still far behind their Premier League adversaries in terms of productivity.
Guardiola has five academy graduates in and around the squad in Phil Foden, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb, James McAtee, and Nico O’Reilly.
Frank does not. Nor does he have the ability to sell players like Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, and even Pedro Porro, all of whom came through the ranks with the Blues and were sold for pure profit.
Spurs have made inroads, as proven by Mikey Moore’s emergence, but will still look to City as the model for where they want to be in a few years.
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