Man City sign Wolves defender Ait-Nouri for £31m

Manchester City have signed Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri for £31m.

The 24-year-old Algeria defender has signed a contract until 2030 and is available for the group stage of the Club World Cup.

City begin their campaign in the newly-expanded tournament against Moroccan club Wydad AC on 18 June.

Algeria international Ait-Nouri joined Wolves in a £14.9m deal from Angers in 2021, having spent the previous season on loan, and made 41 appearances in all competitions last term as the club avoided relegation, scoring five goals and adding seven assists.

He is Wolves' second high-profile departure of the summer, with Manchester United having agreed to sign Brazil striker Matheus Cunha for £62.5m.

City have already agreed a £46.3m deal to sign AC Milan's Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, adding to the £200m spent in the January transfer window.

Ait-Nouri said: "City are one of the biggest clubs in the world and the chance to play for the club is a dream come true.

"I am excited about working with and learning from Pep Guardiola and his coaching team and getting to train and play alongside such a world class group of players."

Former Wolves coach Edu Rubio, who worked with Ait-Nouri during the 2022-23 season

His technical competency, his ability and skill in tight areas - keeping the ball close to his feet - give him the opportunity to fit perfectly into Guardiola's possession-based play.

He can also dribble with speed, to get the team up the pitch driving with the ball, which is probably what Manchester City need right now - players who can break lines.

Defensively he has improved his game since his arrival to the Premier League and his one-v-one defending is of a very good standard. He can cope physically and is a very versatile player who can operate in any position down the flank, or by playing as an inverted full-back.

He needs to improve his decision-making on the ball - he can take one touch too many at times and slow down the ball speed down in a possession game that Guardiola loves. He also needs to work on his end product in attack.

At a club like City he will need to get his assist ratio higher, but it is something he can definitely do.