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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Neil Moxley

Man City starlet Charlie McNeil at centre of transfer tug of war between European giants

Manchester City starlet Charlie McNeil has found himself at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war between two of European football's biggest clubs.

The Under-16 England international looks set to leave the Etihad with Juventus and RB Leipzig fighting out an increasingly-tense battle for him.

McNeil, 16, is regarded as being the next off the production line from the club's academy, and has just broken into the Three Lions' junior ranks.

But he is feeling increasingly-undervalued by the hierarchy at Manchester City and that has sparked a bidding war from the continent.

Leipzig have a long-standing interest in young English talent and have followed an initial £15m swoop for Nottingham Forest's Oliver Burke back in 2016 with other loan deals for Everton's Ademola Lookman and Arsenal's Emile Smith-Rowe.

While Juventus have been alerted to the success of players such as Jadon Sancho who also quit Manchester City and is currently at the centre of a proposed £100m move to Manchester United following a successful spell with Borussia Dortmund.

Last season's Premier League champions will be under increasing pressure to retain McNeil's services.

He has come through the junior ranks at City and the club has invested heavily in his development but now they face losing him as they did Sancho and Brahim Diaz who also chose to further his career away from east Manchester at Real Madrid.

McNeil cannot sign professional forms until he turns 17 but it now looks increasingly-likely his future lies abroad.

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