“At 11:30 at night in City’s offices” – Club director reveals collapsed transfer on January deadline day | OneFootball

Manchester City saw a deal for Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri collapse in the final moments of the last January transfer window, one club’s sporting director has revealed.

The Algeria international has emerged as the latest priority target for Manchester City officials ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup, as they look to bring together a new-look squad ready to challenge on all fronts immediately in the new season.

A proactive approach to the transfer market comes after officials took on four new recruits during the winter window, as they realised the immediate need for a rebuild of a squad that scraped into a Champions League qualification place on the final day of the last campaign.

Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain sanctioned a spend of around £175 million on four new arrivals midway through the last season, welcoming in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis into the defensive unit, Nico Gonzalez in midfield, and Omar Marmoush in attack.

But it seems as though the arrival of four new players during the halfway stage of the season could have extended to five new faces, only for a late submission of documentation preventing a deal from being finalised on deadline day.

Speaking during a recent press conference following the conclusion of Angers SCO’s latest campaign, sporting director Laurent Boissier revealed that his former star, Rayan Ait-Nouri was moments away from completing a move to Manchester City during the January window.

“Personally, I’ll only absolutely believe in Rayan’s transfer when it actually it happens,” Boissier responded, in large part due to the financial interest that his club retain in their former defender.

He continued by revealing, “You should know that in January his transfer fell through at 11:30 at night in [Manchester] City’s offices.

“So as long as the deal hasn’t actually been officially signed, I simply don’t include it in any of my budget planning.”

Boissier’s personal interest on proceedings relates to a 50 per cent sell-on clause that was inserted by Angers when Ait-Nouri joined Wolves in the summer of 2021 for just shy of £10 million after an initial loan deal to Molineux.

Now, the former Angers left-back – who has gone from strength to strength since swapping French football for the English game – is on the verge of a big-money move to the Etihad Stadium, having personally agreed to the idea of a switch.

For now, it seems as though only an agreement between the clubs stands in the way of a deal from being completed, and the current feeling in both camps is that a handshake on the matter will come sooner rather than later.

From the side of Manchester City, they are believed to value Rayan Aït-Nouri at around £30 million to £35 million while their Wolves counterparts want over £40 million for their prized defensive possession.