Manchester City are in danger of losing another prospect to Borussia Dortmund... nearly six years after the Jadon Sancho episode.
Dortmund are interested in signing midfielder Shea Charles, who is yet to make a first-team appearance for Pep Guardiola's side. City's Premier League rivals Leeds and Brentford are also believed to be after the 19-year-old's signature this summer.
Sancho, now 23, completed a £10million move from City to Dortmund in August 2017. The winger went on to score 38 goals and provide 51 assists in 104 Bundesliga games before completing a £73m transfer to City's rivals Manchester United four years later.
As reported by The Guardian, Charles is a summer transfer target for Dortmund, Leeds and Brentford. The emerging talent, who still has more than four years left on his existing deal, is a holding midfielder by trade but can also play at right-back or centre-back.
Charles has made five professional appearances in the EFL Trophy and regularly plays at reserve level but has never featured for the first team. He was included on Guardiola's bench for City's 1-1 Champions League draw against RB Leipzig in February.
Yet Charles has made a name for himself at international level by featuring six times for Northern Ireland's senior team. The Manchester-born star is of Northern Irish decent through his mother and represented the country at youth level before progressing.
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Charles' impressive performances for Northern Ireland have gained Dortmund's attention. There is a belief he could be lured away from the Etihad due to his lack of minutes, especially after Sancho and fellow prospect Jamie Bynoe-Gittens moved to Germany.
Bynoe-Gittens, 18, moved to Dortmund's academy in 2020 and made his Bundesliga debut a year ago. He has featured 18 times for Dortmund's first team this season and is a regular in England's U19 side. It's only a matter of time before he graduates to the U21s.
Charles discussed his future while on international duty last month. He said, "At the moment I’m just going to see out the season and we’ll see what happens. Hopefully, I’d love to stay at City. That’s obviously the main target, but you never know, so we’ll see.
"It will be difficult [to get into the side], but I’m confident in my own abilities. Training with them, learning from them all the time, it’s just a great experience."
Charles will struggle to get ahead of Rodri and Kalvin Phillips in City's pecking order. Rodri rarely misses a game for Guardola's side, while Phillips has not started in the Premier League since his £45m move from Leeds last summer - such is the competition for places.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill believes Charles is "at the best club to learn how to be a footballer". The youngster added, "Watching them [Rodri and Phillips], learning, asking questions, that’s the main thing. The reading of the game - game intelligence and a good range of passing is really important."
