Sport

Man City hoping to snap up promising Liverpool youngster with multiple clubs monitoring

The clock is ticking.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 18th February 2026

Manchester City are hoping to secure the signature of a rising Liverpool star who is already looking like one to watch, but they’ll have to wrestle with a number of teams if they want to get their man.

For starters, his parent club don’t want to let him go, but they have until this summer to lock him into a new deal, with suitors ready and waiting in the wings.

The promising youth player in question is Josh Abe, who is just 15 years old but has already made a bit of sporting history on Merseyside and even in Europe.

Having already scored a hatful of goals at various levels, several Premier League outfits are now monitoring his contract situation, with Abe still yet to commit his future to Melwood and possible Liverpool first-team opportunities – and it’s not hard to see why so many want him…

The Warrington-born winger has registered eight goals and a trio of assists for the under-18s this season, including a standout performance against Derby, as well as a hat-trick against Leeds United earlier this month.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cementing himself in the record books as their youngest ever scorer at that level, he also happened to play a key role in their 3-2 win over Oliver Reiss’ side back in October, grabbing a goal and assisting as they beat City in the division for the first time in half a dozen years.

But he’s impressed beyond just LFC ranks, too.

ADVERTISEMENT

In addition to becoming the youngest Liverpool product to ever feature in the UEFA Youth League, he has also been called up to England’s U16s.

With early nods of recognition across the board, it’s little surprise that he’s now trained with Arne Slot’s senior squad on more than one occasion.

However, scousers are still waiting to see his full professional debut, as it looks like his employers have a fight on their hands to keep the fast-progressing young forward.

ADVERTISEMENT

As per The Athletic‘s James Pearce, Man City look to be leading their pursuit for Josh Abe not only as a major rival club and the next nearest destination, but because of the increased wages they could theoretically offer him as an aspiring pro and potential future prospect.

On the other hand, if Liverpool do fail to tie him down, his agency, PLG – headed up by Tyler Alexander-Arnold, the brother of Trent – will be free to negotiate from June 1 onwards if he doesn’t extend his stay – it could be a three-horse race to snap him up.

Apart from City, both Chelsea and Arsenal are said to be interested in recruiting him, and with it being reported that teenaged attacker’s father is a lifelong Gunner, they could pose an added threat to the Blues sealing a transfer.

Then again, we’ve seen Chelsea continue to swallow up talent all over the country for their academy time and time again, plus they’ve been pretty lax when it comes to the salary budget for years now. All that being said, the CFG (City Football Group) could face quite a scrap should Abe decide to leave Liverpool.

Naturally, he’s already been the subject of a ‘future wonderkid’ highlights reel on YouTube; you can see some of his best moments so far down below.

ADVERTISEMENT
Have you seen clips of him before, and/or are you buying into the hype?

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — PB Comps/Liverpool FC (screenshots via YouTube)/ALL RED Video

Sport

Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Andy Burnham outside Number 10 Downing Street

Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.

In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.

According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.

These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.

The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.

The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.

Man City release statement after being found guilty of all charges related to Premier League’s financial rules

Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.

A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.

The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.

“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.

“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.

Read more:

“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”

Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)


Sport

Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.

Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.

One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.

Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.

At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.

Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.

Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.

“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.

Read more:

“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”

Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.

Featured Image – Rawpixel

More Sport

Manchester's beloved Club de Padel to return home, with plans for huge new club

Manchester

Manchester’s beloved Club de Padel to return home, with plans for huge new club

Sport

Manchester Half Marathon 2026 – route map, start times, travel warnings, and more

Travel advice for the Manchester Half Marathon 2026. Credit: Manchester Half

Manchester

Travel warning issued as tens of thousands to descend for Manchester Half Marathon

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches