Arsenal withdraw from talks to sign midfielder as Man City hijack £10m transfer

Jeremy Monga is set to join Manchester City (Getty)

Manchester City are leading the race to sign Jeremy Monga after Arsenal withdrew from negotiations for the Leicester City winger.

Leicester are set to lose Monga this summer following their relegation from the Championship and the 16-year-old has attracted interest from several clubs in the Premier League and across Europe.

Last year, Monga agreed a professional contract with Leicester, which starts when he turns 17 on July 10 and enables the Foxes to command a transfer fee for the winger.

Chelsea and Manchester United are among the Premier League clubs who have registered their interest in signing Monga this summer, however, Arsenal appeared to be in the driving seat after holding direct talks with Leicester .

England's hero (Picture:Getty)

However, The Athletic reports that Arsenal have now pulled out of the running to sign Monga as they believe Leicester’s £10 million valuation is too high.

That has allowed Manchester City to make their move and last season’s Premier League runners-up are in negotiations with Leicester over a deal.

Leicester City are demanding a £10m fee for Jeremy Monga (Getty)

Elsewhere, talkSPORT reports that Arsenal’s latest offer for Monga is short of Leicester’s asking price at £6.5m.

Monga made his Premier League debut aged just 15 years, eight months and 28 days old, and is the third-youngest player in Premier League history behind Arsenal duo Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman.

Last August, in August, Monga became the youngest goalscorer in Championship history with his strike in Leicester’s defeat to Preston.