Manchester City have now made it officially confirmed- Rayan Ait-Nouri is the newest member of their squad. The Algerian left back moves over from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a deal that was reported to be a £31m base transfer fee + £5m in potential add-ons, so a total of £36m.
And according to the club’s press release, Ait-Nouri “will take part in our FIFA Club World Cup campaign.”
Manchester City FIFA Club World Cup FYIs
How They Qualified: Winners of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League
Manchester City Club World Cup Preview: go here
Group G Matches:
June 18, 12pm EST, Wydad AC, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
June 22, 9pm, EST, Al Anin, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
June 26, 3pm, EST, Juventus, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
The first CWC match will take place nine days from now in Philly. Ait-Nouri, 24, becomes the club’s first official signing of the summer, but AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders (who came over on a transfer fee worth €55m) will be next. And it should not be too long until Lyon forward Rayan Cherki then follows suit.
Which would then break an unorthodox unofficial transfer window record for signings with the first name of Rayan.
The official statement, attributed to Rayan Ait-Nouri reads:
“I am incredibly happy and honoured to have joined Manchester City. City are one of the biggest clubs in the world and the chance to play for the club is a dream come true.
“I am also so excited about working with and learning from Pep and his coaching team and getting to train and play alongside such a world class group of players. Joining City is also a very proud moment for my family too.
“Now I can’t wait to get started and to play in front of our supporters.”
Meanwhile the statement attributed to club’s Director of Football, Hugo Viana, reads: “Rayan is a player that as a Club we have been following closely for quite some time and we are delighted he has joined us.
“He already has extensive Premier League experience and has also demonstrated his quality at international level with Algeria.
“We feel sure that he will be an excellent addition to our squad and that working alongside Pep and his coaching staff will help develop his game even further.
“And at just 24 he is someone we feel sure will help us in our objective to bring more success to the club.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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