Nigerian wonderkid Kelechi Iheanacho has
signed a pre-contract with Manchester City
and will arrive at the Etihad in October, his
father has confirmed.
The Premier League outfit have resurrected
the move for Iheanacho and agreed terms
after a dispute between his parents and the
club arose over bonus payments threatened
to collapse a deal last month.
The teenager, who won the Golden Ball at
the Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab
Emirates last autumn, is currently on holiday
in Barcelona and will return to Nigeria
before moving to Manchester when he turns
18 in 10 months’ time.
“He can’t sign but what he has done is sign
a pre-contract with Manchester City pending
his 18th birthday,” Iheanacho’s father James
told brilafm.net at the Confederation of
African Football’s gala award ceremony in
Lagos.
Goal revealed last week that a £250,000
(€300,000) transfer fee has been agreed for
Iheanacho, with a further £300,000
(€360,000) being paid to the Taye Academy
in Owerri and £350,000 (€420,000) to the
youngster’s father.
City have invested heavily in top youth talent
over the last 12 months, with Swede
Zacharias Faour, Norwegian goalkeeper
Kjetil Haug, Real Madrid starlet Jose Pozo and
Malaga’s Brahim Abdelkader all having
joined the club.
Iheanacho’s 17-year-old compatriot, Chidi
Nwakali, is also expected to sign imminently
after arriving at the club for talks last week.
The influx of young talents at City comes
ahead of the club opening their state-of-the-
art Etihad Campus training facility in August,
which will house City’s youth set-up
alongside their Platt Lane complex in
Fallowfield.