Manchester City have snapped up defender Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves, splashing out a cool £36 million. The French full-back is the first fresh face at the Etihad this summer, penning a five-year contract.
City didn’t hang about, sealing the deal by Tuesday’s cut-off to ensure Rayan Ait-Nouri is Club World Cup-ready for the Saturday kick-off. The 24-year-old Algerian ace’s move kicks off at £31 million, with add-ons potentially bumping it to £36 million if he hits certain targets and bonuses.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is set to be Guardiola’s go-to guy on the left flank, filling a gap that’s been glaring since last season when City lacked a natural in that spot. Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, and Nico O’Reilly took turns there, but Ait-Nouri’s arrival marks the end of City’s left-back woes.
Over the moon, Rayan Ait-Nouri gushed: “I’m 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.” Buzzing about the prospect of working under Pep, he added: “I’m 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,” reports the Mirror.
“At just 24, he is someone we feel sure will help us in our objective to bring more success to the club.”
Rayan Ait-Nouri sealed the deal with Wolves from French outfit Angers in 2021 after initially impressing on loan. His tenure at Molineux was marked by 157 outings, bagging a dozen goals and setting up 19 more across five seasons.
Angers are poised to bag £9.5 million from this latest move, thanks to Wolves waving goodbye to their 50 percent sell-on stipulation – a strategic play established when Ait-Nouri made his switch to Wolves.
The previous campaign saw Rayan Ait-Nouri kick off 37 out of 38 league matches, clinching Pep Guardiola’s admiration not just for his consistency, but also his dynamic play both up front and at the back.
