According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea has lost one of its most promising young talents to Manchester City. The journalist reports that the club orchestrated the deal despite other offers for the 16-year-old player, Ryan McAidoo, who is set to leave Chelsea and sign with the Premier League champions.
Other sources confirm that Liverpool and Arsenal also showed interest in the young prospect.
Liverpool, in particular, is keen on bolstering their academy this summer, with Wolves’ young talent Alvin Ayman reportedly close to joining them at Anfield.
McAidoo, an England under-17 international, signed with the PLG agency earlier this year. This agency, managed by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s brother Tyler, represents notable players like Andy Robertson and has strong connections to Liverpool.
McAidoo has played as a midfielder in UEFA Euro under-17 Championship qualification matches against Northern Ireland and Hungary, although he was not selected for the final squad.
At just 16, he made four appearances in the under-18 Premier League for Chelsea last season but has opted to leave the club in search of better development opportunities.
Earlier this month, Romano stated that Arsenal had made a compelling offer for McAidoo.
He posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Arsenal was leading the race to sign the talented forward, born in 2008, who had played for England’s U16 and U17 teams. Romano noted that Arsenal’s project proposal was the best McAidoo had received at that time.
Despite Arsenal’s strong interest and Liverpool’s ambition, Manchester City seems to have successfully secured McAidoo’s signature, outmaneuvering their rivals to acquire the young star.
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