Manchester City defender finalises La Liga transfer in multi-million agreement, reveals Fabrizio Romano | OneFootball

Manchester City have finalised an agreement that will see Sergio Gomez bring an end to his time at the Etihad Stadium, market insider Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.

The Barcelona academy graduate and former Borussia Dortmund man was first signed by Manchester City in August 2022 on a four-year contract, with the understanding being that the player came with a glowing reference from his RSC Anderlecht coach Vincent Kompany.

Gómez would go on to immediately make his Manchester City debut in the same month, and feature in the UEFA Champions League win over Sevilla shortly after, while his first season at the Etihad Stadium would be marked by a historic Treble success.

However, game time has consistently been hard to come by for the versatile full-back, who operated as a wide-winger for the Spanish youth team set-up, with Pep Guardiola leaning towards the likes of Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol in the left-back role.

As such, the ongoing summer transfer window has sparked plenty of interest in the full-back, who has been weighing up his options with an improvement in game-time and on-field opportunities at the very centre of his thinking.

Now, as per the information of transfer market insider Fabrizio Romano, Sergio Gómez to Real Sociedad can now be considered as a ‘here we go’ agreement, with a deal now in place after interest from the La Liga club was first revealed several weeks ago.

It is detailed that a €9 million package has now been agreed between both clubs, with Manchester City retaining a 15 per cent sell-on fee for any future exit from the La Liga side, as well as a buy-back clause for the 23-year-old.

Additionally, Fabrizio Romano has explained that Gómez has always considered Real Sociedad as his first priority, despite more than four clubs being in the race to sign him throughout the course of the window so far.

Other clubs are said to have offered Manchester City a loan deal, while the Premier League champions preferred Real Sociedad’s €9 million proposal due to the sell-on and buy back clauses.

Reports linking Gomez with various moves across the European game have been widespread this summer, with Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich sensationally tied with the player at one stage, whilst AS Roma and West Ham United have also monitored the situation.

Ultimately however, a return to his home nation of Spain has proven to be the player’s favoured next destination, with plenty around the game believing that he still has a stellar career ahead of him despite his struggles in Sky Blue.

Manchester City are unlikely to seek a direct replacement for Sergio Gomez, but may require a new addition to their first-team squad to ensure the numbers to not become too depleted for the new season.

Gomez’s departure will no doubt be a hard pill for the player and his brother to swallow, given the very public knowledge of their lifelong support for Manchester City, and Gomez giving up the iconic number 21 shirt number worn by the legendary David Silva.