Manchester City have reportedly been knocked back in their attempts to sign Ilyes Benlebsir, with Le Havre holding out for a bigger fee.
According to RMC Sport, Manchester City have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Ilyes Benlibsir. The English champions had tabled an offer of around €700,000 for the Le Havre midfielder, who is regarded as one of the most talented players to come out of the club’s youth academy.
However, Manchester City’s offer was swiftly rejected by Le Havre. The French outfit have no intention to sell their youngster on a cut-price deal and are holding out for a better offer. While they are open to offloading Benlebsir, clubs will have to come up with a much more lucrative offer in order to get their hands on the youngster.
A defensive midfielder by trade, Benlebsir currently plies his trade with Le Havre’s Under-19 setup. He is yet to make his debut in professional football, but many expect him to make the jump to the club’s senior team next season.
Le Havre are currently in the second division of French football. With the prospect of remaining in Ligue 2 for at least another season looming large, the club could find it difficult to keep hold of their youth prospect, especially with top clubs across Europe keen on securing his services.
Manchester City, for one, have shown the desire to sign Benlebsir, who has made a solid impression with his maturity, positioning sense and skill in the middle of the park.
At the age of just 17, Benlebsir may have a long way to go before he can be a part of the senior Manchester City side. But at the Etihad, he could find himself a world-class youth training facility that has developed stars such as Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden in recent years.
It is also fair to point out that Manchester City are on the verge of losing their long-serving holding midfielder Fernandinho at the end of the season. The Citizens have targeted Kalvin Phillips as a potential replacement for the ageing Brazilian.
But having someone like Ilyes Benseblir could go a long way in further strengthening the depth in reserve for Pep Guardiola, as he looks to mastermind yet another successful campaign for Manchester City next season.
