Man City and Chelsea have tried to tempt FC Liefering attacking midfielder/winger Johannes Moser away from the Red Bull Group, according to reports.
The 17-year-old had a starring role at the Under-17 World Cup last month as he helped Austria reach the final of the tournament.
Although Moser could not prevent his country from losing to Portugal, he had already found the back of the net 8 times during the competition in Qatar.
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The winger was given the Golden Boot, as well as the Silver Ball, which is handed to the second-best player.
Moser is not leaving Austria
TEAMtalk claim that despite the efforts of both City and Chelsea, the teenager has opted to stay where he is.
Liefering currently plays in Austria’s second tier, but they are effectively Red Bull Salzburg’s second team, and Moser is expected to be offered a new contract to stay within the Red Bull Group.
City were hoping to offer him opportunities at one of the City Football Group teams, while Chelsea had similar ambitions for him at Blueco.
Moser is Austrian, though, and he can’t be persuaded to leave his home country at this stage of his career.
Are Man City pursuing any other young players?
Moser is not the only promising forward who has been linked with Pep Guardiola’s side over the past week or so. It is believed that an approach for Jagiellonia Bialystok winger Oskar Pietuszewski is in the works ahead of the January transfer window.
The forward is believed to be available for around €15m (£13m), but there will be competition from Chelsea (yet again) as well as from Arsenal.
Pietuszewski is slightly further along in his development than Moser, having caught the eye playing for Poland at Under 21 level, as well as having established himself in Jagiellonia’s first team setup.
Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here