Next Man City move leaked by Fabrizio Romano after signing of defender West Ham let go

Manchester City have signed Jamal Baptiste on a free transfer after he was released by West Ham United earlier in the summer.

Fabrizio Romano has shared a picture of Baptiste signing his contract with Manchester City via his Twitter account, after already confirming the move was to be expected.

Even though the transfer window closed at 11pm on Friday, clubs can still register free agents. Therefore, Baptiste has been able to join Man City after being let go by West Ham.

However, he will not immediately become part of Pep Guardiola’s squad. As Romano has relayed, he will be sent on loan to Lommel, who are also part of the City Group.

Lommel play in the Belgian second tier, so will be hoping to provide Baptiste with a platform from which he can develop his career further.

The length of the deal Baptiste will be signing with Man City has not yet come to light. Indeed, the club have yet to actually announce the deal, despite the images in circulation.

Baptiste previously played twice at senior level for West Ham, but neither of his appearances came in the Premier League.

Aged 19, he is a defender who has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 level. Thanks to his potential, he could be useful for Man City in the long term.

For now, though, Guardiola will continue to depend on options like Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, as well as summer signing Josko Gvardiol.

Ake was among the scorers in their 5-1 win over Fulham on Saturday.

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