Bayern Munich and Juventus enter race to sign Manchester City defender | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Rico Lewis has attracted widespread interest from clubs across Europe in the final weeks of the summer transfer window, as per a new report.

The 20-year-old is the one of the finest products of the Manchester City academy and has firmly established himself as a member of Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad after coming through from the academy midway through the 2022-23 campaign.

Lewis broke in to the senior team halfway through Manchester City’s treble-winning campaign and the Englishman’s rise and status in the side was a key reason for the subsequent fallout between Guardiola and Joao Cancelo, who joined Bayern Munich on loan in the 2023 January transfer window.

Since his rise to the first-team, Lewis has gone from strength to strength and proved to be a reliable fixture able to operate in multiple positions over the course of the previous campaign, which is widely regarded as Manchester City’s most testing season under Guardiola.

Capable of operating in various midfield and defensive positions, Lewis has a huge fan in Guardiola, who endears the young Englishman’s versatility and ability of operating in tight areas to help facilitate building out from the back.

Lewis starred for Manchester City in their 2025-26 Premier League opening win against Wolves at the weekend, setting up the opener for Erling Haaland and sending a crucial reminder of his importance to the squad following a busy summer of transfers at the Etihad Stadium.

The last week has seen Lewis being linked with a potential move to Nottingham Forest, who have recently completed the £30 million signing of James McAtee from Manchester City and are reportedly ready to double Lewis’ wages at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite being understood to have been open to move, Lewis confirmed after the weekend win at the Molineux Stadium that he only sees himself at Manchester City amid interest from the City Ground, which will give a sigh of relief to those worried that the Blues are getting increasingly comfortable in offloading their brightest academy graduates.

TBR Football’s Graeme Bailey has reported that alongside Nottingham Forest, each of Aston Villa, Brighton, Tottenham and Everton have expressed their interest in signing Lewis from Manchester City ahead of the September 1 transfer deadline.

In addition, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus are also keeping tabs on Lewis’ situation at the Etihad Stadium and will be ready to pounce should Manchester City declare that they are open to selling Lewis.

Despite Guardiola’s plea to newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana to facilitate further exits from his first-team squad, Manchester City will face huge backlash from their fanbase should they look to cash in on Lewis.

The Manchester City academy graduate sees his future at the Etihad Stadium and after a timely reminder of his quality at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday, Guardiola will be served well by building his newlook side around Lewis in the seasons to come.