Rayan Ait-Nouri informs Manchester City of decision on transfer interest | OneFootball

Wolves have now seen their star left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri take a step closer to Manchester as he has reportedly indicated his decision to City this week.

The Algeria international is believed to be the Etihad Stadium club’s number one priority as they go in search of their first natural left-back signing since the arrival of Benjamin Mendy from AS Monaco in 2017.

Since then, Pep Guardiola has looked towards a number of solutions to fulfil the position including the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabian Delph, and Nathan Ake, while the most-recent season has seen a further two names take on the challenge.

Josko Gvardiol has predominantly been utilised as a left-back since his arrival from RB Leipzig in 2023, but following the emergence of Nico O’Reilly as a credible and impressive solution during the second-half of the last campaign, the Croatian returned to his natural central role.

And the future of the 23-year-old Zagreb-born star may be alongside the likes of Ruben Dias, with Manchester City focussing their attentions on bringing Rayan Ait-Nouri to the club ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.

According to new information from market insider Fabrizio Romano, Ait-Nouri has already given his ‘yes’ to Manchester City over a potential move to the Etihad Stadium this summer, with negotiations between the two clubs set to advance soon.

That line of reporting follows a common belief in various quarters that there is an expectancy within both Molineux and Etihad offices of a deal going through for the impressive left-back in the coming days.

While there is yet to be a fee agreed between both parties, the understanding is that Manchester City will be aiming to do a deal around the £30 million to £35 million mark, with Wolves valuing their man at £40 million.

Developing talk around an agreement for the left-back comes as Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain also work to bring both Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki from AC Milan and Lyon respectively ahead of their summer tournament in the United States.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has already confirmed the club’s intentions to have their squad ready earlier than previous seasons, and admitted that there may have been an internal mistake last summer by not being as “aggressive” when it came to recruitment.