Exclusive: Man City rejected chance to sign Amad Diallo before star opted to join Man United

Manchester United’s new-signing Amad Diallo came within touching distance of joining arch-rivals Manchester City before signing for the Red Devils.

Diallo, 18, agreed to join the red half of Manchester during last summer’s transfer window, however, due to work permit complications, the highly-rated rated teenager was forced to wait until the winter window to complete his switch.

The former Atalanta winger has quickly emerged as one of Europe’s most gifted attackers.

During his six-years with Atalanta, the talented Ivorian directly contributed to 61 goals in 93 youth games, in all competitions.

One of Diallo’s stand-out performances came against Man City’s under 19s during a UEFA Youth League tie which saw the 18-year-old net once and assist another during a brilliant 3-1 win.

It was to be that performance all the way back in October 2019 that put Man City’s recruitment team on red alert.

Stretty News has recently obtained exclusive information from close source who has revealed the shocking details of just how close Diallo came to being a Citizen.

Diallo was scouted relentlessly by Man City’s world-class recruitment team and in a bid to secure the finances on offer, Atalanta even offered their wonder-kid to Pep Guardiola.

We understand that Man City were offered Diallo for around the £40m mark; a fee within the same region that United ended up agreeing to.

However, after a prolonged scouting mission which included both extensive mental and physical research, Man City declined Atalanta’s offer.

It has been revealed to us that the reason the blue half of Manchester rejected the chance to sign Diallo was down to concerns over the youngster’s physical stature.

Diallo currently stands at around five-feet, eight-inches and weighs a little over 10-stone; Man City’s recruitment team felt this was too much of a risk given the physical nature of the Premier League.

The club had initially scouted Diallo with a view to develop him as a long-term successor to former midfielder David Silva, however, the recent emergence of Phil Foden soon put an end to that idea.

Perhaps most surprising that Man City rejected Diallo based on his physical stats is the fact current winger Raheem Sterling displays similar numbers.

However, it is believed that Sterling’s already proven credentials in England’s top-flight whilst playing for Liverpool did not offer anywhere near the same kind of risks.

In light of Man City ruling themselves out of finalising a deal for Diallo, United quickly stepped in and happily agreed terms with the youngster.

It is not yet known when Diallo can expect to be awarded with his United debut, however, fans can perhaps expect to see him in action soon.

Speaking in a press conference earlier on Tuesday, manager Solskjaer hinted that the youngster may be called into action sooner rather than later.

Read more: (Video) Man United youngster bags brace for under-23s in fine performance

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