Italian side hold upper hand in race with Premier League clubs to sign 29-goal Manchester City forward

Serie B side Palermo could win the race to sign Manchester City forward Carlos Borges, amid interest from a number of Premier League clubs including Nottingham Forest.

The 19 year-old, who was named as the Premier League 2 Player of the Year, was directly involved in 47 goals for the Manchester City EDS during the 2022/23 campaign.

Borges helped Brian Barry-Murphy’s side to a third consecutive Premier League 2 title and played a key role in the Blues reaching the knock-out stages of the UEFA Youth League.

The teenager was directly involved in 32 goals in 24 PL2 appearances last season and was afforded the opportunity to feature in a first-team friendly at the City Football Academy against City-owned Girona in December.

Fellow City Football Group side Palermo, of Serie B in Italy, are reportedly interested in signing the 19 year-old this summer, with a number of Premier League clubs also eying a potential move for the forward.

Nottingham Forest and West Ham have both shown an interest in the teenager as well as a number of Bundesliga clubs, with it previously claimed that Manchester City are open to selling the forward permitting a buy-back clause can be inserted.

Football Italia relay a report that Palermo are hoping to take advantage of their position within the City Football Group to sign Borges this summer, as the Italian club look to return to the top-flight for the first time in six years.

The Serie B side finished just outside the play-off places last season and after being taken over by the CFG last year, the Rosanero hope to add to their attack with one of Manchester City’s highly rated academy prospects.

Borges has never played for the Manchester City first-team competitively, and is contracted at the City Football Academy until 2024.