Manchester City are the latest Premier League club to show an interest in Fulham’s teenage defender Ryan Sessegnon, according to a report in today’s Daily Mail.
The Mail suggests that Sessegnon’s English credentials, as captain of the successful Under 17 side, make him an attractive proposition for City, who could develop him into more of a midfielder in time. Former Fulham academy graduate Patrick Roberts left Craven Cottage for Manchester City last summer but struggled to break into the first team and is now in the middle of an eighteen-month loan at Celtic.
Sessegnon has attracted scouts from a number of leading English clubs to Fulham’s youth team games in the past. Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham are known to be monitoring his progress closely, but only Arsenal have tabled a formal transfer offer, which was rejected last August. The 16 year-old followed up his encouraging first-team debut against Leyton Orient in the EFL Cup with an excellent display at Leeds in the Championship draw on Tuesday night – and is in line to keep his place for the visit of Cardiff to Craven Cottage tomorrow.
Fulham are hopeful of signing Sessegnon to his first professional contract when he turns seventeen and convincing him to remain with the club where he can continue his development under the watchful eye of Slavisa Jokanovic, who conceded after the draw at Elland Road that he didn’t like talking at length about Sessegnon’s remarkable progress because it may place extra pressure on the youngster.
