FC Groningen in talks with Manchester City over season-long loan deal for new signing

Eredivisie side FC Groningen are in talks about a loan deal for Uriel Antuna, the Mexico under-20 international who was recently sold to the ‘City Football Group’ by his former club Santos Laguna.

It seems that, as expected, that the 19-year-old midfielder is now under contract to Manchester City, with third-party ownership banned in football, making it impossible for the CFG to own a player themselves.

And according to both Tom Marshall of ESPN and Elwin Bass of RTV Noord, Antuna is close to joining Groningen on loan for the 2017-18 season.

FC Groningen is in gesprek met Uriel Antuna (19 jr Mexico). Hij staat onder contract bij Man City. Nijland wil niet op namen ingaan.

— Elwin Baas (@elwinbaas) July 26, 2017

Hearing that young Mexican winger Uriel Antuna could be wearing green and white next season … at Groningen in the Eredivisie #eltrieng

— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) July 26, 2017

This won’t be the first time City have done business with the Dutch side, having sold former academy player Albert Rusnák there in 2015. This is expected to be a temporary switch for the highly-rated Antuna, should the deal go through.

Antuna has also been linked with City Football Group clubs, but with those sides already in the process of taking so many players from the Blues (four training with Girona pending an official announcement, six on loan at NAC with a seventh joining on a permanent deal), he is poised to move elsewhere.

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