Manchester City have secured their first signing of the summer in Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, who will join for a fee of £31m.
VAVEL UK reported last week that the Algeria international attracted the interest of City, and the left back has now signed a deal that will keep him at the club until June 2030 — he is also able to play in the upcoming Club World Cup.
The defender is the first signing of Pep Guardiola’s summer transfer window ahead of the tournament, which will be held in the United States, with the eight-time Premier League winners also on the verge of announcing AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders.
Ait-Nouri joined Wolves on loan from French club Angers in October 2020 before making his move permanent the following July and has impressed City, who have kept an eye on the defender for a number of seasons.
He made 157 appearances for Wolves, scoring 12 goals and providing 19 assists across all competitions.
Ait-Nouri was key for the Molineux side this season, playing in 41 of their 43 total games across the 2024-25 campaign, and completed a medical on Saturday to seal his move to Manchester.
‘The idea left back’ – how would Ait-Nouri fit into Guardiola’s system?
Ait-Nouri is perhaps one of the greatest all-round footballers in the Premier League given his ability to defend, create and score.
It begs the questions of whether or not Guardiola will keep him at his native left back position or push him further up the pitch.
Alongside Josko Gvardiol, a breakthrough for Nico O’Reilly in the 2024-25 campaign also shows that the eight-time Premier League champions have depth in the left side of defence and, with the signing of Reijnders, and a move for Lyon's Rayan Cherki imminent, it creates an inquiry of where Ait-Nouri, who has an abundance of qualities in midfield, will play.
The 24-year-old is comfortable in possession, versatile - which is an added bonus heading into Guardiola’s system - and embodies the kind of intelligent, adaptable and gifted player that will only progress at City for years to come.
Ait-Nouri began his career at Ligue 1 Angers at 16 years old and made his senior debut in the 2018-19 season. He played a total of 23 league games and provided three assists.
After moving for a reported fee of £9.5m (€11.1m), he flourished at Molineux but didn’t reach his full potential which is most certainly attainable in Guardiola’s City side.
Angers included a 50% sell-on clause in the deal when he joined Wolves, which means the French club will receive a substantial portion of the profit made from his sale to City.
