PSG Prospect Claudio Gomes Set to Leave for Manchester City Over Lack of First-Team Opportunities

Manchester City are closing in on the signing of PSG youngster Claudio Gomes, according to reports in France.

RMC Sport reports that Gomes, a defensive midfielder who has been training regularly with the senior team at the Parc des Princes, will join City in the summer. PSG will receive a small formation fee for the 17-year-old, but there will be no transfer fee involved.

Reports claim that Pep Guardiola was personally involved in the deal, and that it was he who convinced Gomes that he belonged at the Etihad. He reportedly promised Gomes that he has a place in his thoughts going forward, a guarantee which Unai Emery has evidently not been able to make.

Gomes has yet to play for PSG's first-team, but has been hailed as a star of the future. This loss does not reflect well on Les Parisiens' youth record or on new Head of Youth Development, Luis Fernandez.

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It had been hoped that Fernandez would be able to prevent more PSG starlets from leaving the club, after two promising academy prospects were lured away last summer. Dan-Axel Zagadou moved to Germany to join Borussia Dortmund, while Boubakary Soumaré joined Lille.

Neither player broke into the first-team at PSG, but in both cases their moves away have been vindicated. Zagadou has made eleven Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund this season, while Soumaré has played eight times in Ligue 1.

And now Gomes is the latest player who feels that a move away from the French capital is necessary in order for him to make an impact on senior football.