Manchester City have beaten Arsenal to the £12.5m signing of 17-year-old winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City, as Chelsea prepare to offload Alejandro Garnacho.
Monga, who turned 17 on Friday, was coveted by Arsenal but City pushed hard to sign the teenager, who head coach Enzo Maresca knows from his promotion-winning season at Leicester in 2023-24. The winger, born in Coventry, has represented England at various age groups up to the under-19s and in April 2025 became the second-youngest player to make his Premier League debut. Last August, aged 16 and 34 days, he became Leicester’s youngest starter and, three days later, the Championship’s youngest scorer – breaking a record set by Jude Bellingham.
“Man City sign Jeremy Monga for £12.5m as Chelsea exile Garnacho from pre-season training ahead of a £42.5m sale.”
“When I became aware that Manchester City were interested, I knew instantly this was the right choice for me,” Monga told his new club’s website. “For any young footballer, to become part of this amazing club is a dream come true. This has been the best club in England over the past 10 years. And it has also handed opportunities to players from the academy like Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly which shows that the pathway is there.”
City’s coup contrasts with events at Chelsea, where Garnacho has not joined pre-season training as the club actively looks to sell him. The Argentina winger has been told he is not guaranteed a regular starting place, and it has been mutually agreed that he should depart. Chelsea value Garnacho at around £42.5m and will only entertain permanent offers, despite reported loan interest from Roma. Premier League, European and Saudi Arabian clubs have expressed interest, with talks open and advancing. Manchester United are due 10% of any sale.
The 22-year-old endured an underwhelming season after his £40m move from United, scoring one Premier League goal in 24 matches and six in domestic cups. His absence from Thursday’s first-team sessions at Cobham underlines his uncertain future at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s reshaping under new manager Xabi Alonso includes the signings of full-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta for £47m and winger Geovany Quenda from Sporting for £40m, while left-back Marc Cucurella has joined Real Madrid for £52m and winger Tyrique George moved to Everton for up to £24m. The Blues are targeting a centre-back, with Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix among targets, and are in talks for Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria. Trevoh Chalobah’s entourage is exploring moves to Inter Milan and Como. Chelsea finished 10th last season and are preparing for a pre-season tour of Australia and Asia.