Stephen Mfuni of Manchester City has been linked with a move to Derby County.
Stephen Mfuni (right) of Manchester City has been linked with a move to Derby County.
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Coventry City's move for highly-rated Manchester City youngster Stephen Mfuni has fallen through - and could put Derby County on red alert. Mfuni looked to be heading to the CBS Arena after he impressed during a loan spell at Watford in the second half of last season. But the move will not be happening with the Sky Blues now turning their attentions to Brentford's Ethan Pinnock.
That has left Mfuni looking for a new club to continue his development, with Watford and Derby among his admirers, according to TalkSport. Derby are reeling from the news that Matt Clarke is out for three months because of a calf problem, leaving Sondre Langas and Dion Sanderson as cover.
Mfuni is a left-sided centre-back and could step into Clarke's role, and knows former Manchester City EDS coach Ben Wilkinson, who is now on Derby's coaching staff. The centre-back is highly rated by City and was on the bench in several Champions League games. He then moved to Watford, during which time he impressed for the Hornets.
Watford have been keen to re-sign him, with sporting director Luke Dowling revealing that talks were ongoing with City over the teenager earlier this summer.
Dowling said: "Everyone who watched Watford play last year in the games when Mfuni, especially, played, it wouldn't surprise me, with Man City losing Nathan Ake this year, if they kept him around. He's left-footed like Ake, he can play left-back, he can play left centre-half, so that wouldn't surprise me at all.
"However, the club are in contact with Man City regularly...so just wait and see. It's unfortunate with loans like that because we're never in control with them as they are not our players."
Back in 2023, Mfuni impressed as a 15-year-old, ironically in a 2-0 win over Watford in the FA Youth Cup, and Wilkinson, who was appointed to John Eustace's coaching staff this summer, said: "He’s an exceptional talent.
“We think very highly of him. For a player that’s 15 years old, he has great maturity and a real high level of potential. He played slightly out of position tonight at left-back but dealt with the ball really well and looked comfortable in defensive situations.
“There are still some things we saw and think he could have done better, but for a 15-year-old to sort of step into this environment and look so comfortable is a really positive sign.”
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