Man City rivalling Arsenal for €60m Germany star – Pep summer signing already under threat?

Manchester City and Arsenal are both in the frame to sign rising Germany star Nathaniel Brown, according to a report, and TEAMtalk has analysed how the move could impact two Etihad stars.

Brown is a 22-year-old left-back who spent time in the Regensburg and Nuremberg academies before signing for Frankfurt in a €3million deal in January 2024. He had a loan spell back to Nuremberg in the second half of the 2023-24 campaign to continue his development before getting into Frankfurt’s first team last season.

Brown went on to register three goals and seven assists in 33 appearances across all competitions, helping Frankfurt finish third in the Bundesliga – ahead of Borussia Dortmund – and reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Brown has developed into a key player for the German outfit and has notched one goal and two assists in eight matches so far this term.

The youngster is exceptionally quick and excels at going forward, where he uses his impressive dribbling and crossing to register goal contributions.

Brown is also solid defensively, while he has the ability to step into midfield in an inverted left-back role.

The youngster’s great performances have alerted both Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann and clubs from the Premier League.

Nagelsmann gave the defender his international debut during Germany’s 4-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday.

As per Football Insider, Man City are ‘battling Arsenal’ to sign the player, with the two Premier League giants having registered their interest last month.

Man City and Arsenal have both scouted Brown in Germany and are ‘keeping tabs’ on his development ahead of potential transfer talks at some stage in 2026.

The report explains how Brown has emerged as an ‘incredible talent’ and has been compared to former City and Bayern Munich ace Joao Cancelo in his home country.

Respected German journalist Florian Plettenberg adds that Frankfurt ‘already expect top offers’ for their prized asset and will demand ‘up to €60m’ (£52m) to sell next summer.

Brown is tied down with Frankfurt until June 2030, which means the club can negotiate a big price.

Frankfurt are great at developing players before selling them on for significant profit, as shown by the recent moves of City’s own Omar Marmoush, plus Hugo Ekitike and Randal Kolo Muani.

It is interesting that City are monitoring a left-back considering they only brought in Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer.

Ait-Nouri cost £36m but only made three appearances before picking up an ankle injury. Nico O’Reilly has since established himself as Pep Guardiola’s first-choice left-back, which means Ait-Nouri could struggle to get back into the team.

On October 3, TEAMtalk explained how Ait-Nouri and one of his City team-mates are already facing uncertain futures at the Etihad.

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Matheus Nunes did not impress Guardiola in central midfield, so Ait-Nouri would not be the first signing from Wolves to fail to live up to expectations.

Perhaps Guardiola is planning to move O’Reilly into midfield in the future, which would make room for Brown in his squad.

O’Reilly came through the City academy as a midfielder and would like to play further forward later in his career.

Josko Gvardiol operated at left-back last season, though Guardiola has since moved him into central defence.

Agent tees up City deal; Arsenal signing criticised

Meanwhile, an agent has claimed his client ‘belongs’ at a major club such as City.

The winger has even been tipped to follow in the footsteps of big names such as Kevin De Bruyne and Kylian Mbappe.

Elsewhere, an international manager has been slammed for making top stars from Arsenal and Liverpool ‘look like Sunday league players’.

Plus, an Arsenal target valued at a whopping €90m has received big praise from media outlets in his home country.

In profile: Who is Nathaniel Brown?

By Samuel Bannister

The son of an American father and German mother, Brown was born in Germany in June 2003.

He broke through with FC Nurnberg in 2023 after the best part of seven years in their academy. Less than a year after his senior debut, he earned a move to Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2024, although they allowed him to stay where he was on loan for the remainder of that season.

Over his full debut season with Eintracht Frankfurt, Brown ranked in the 99th percentile of Bundesliga full-backs for tackles per 90 minutes. He also managed to provide six assists and score three goals in the German top flight

Frankfurt secured qualification for the 2025-26 Champions League, giving Brown his first taste of the competition recently after he played in the Europa League with them last term.

It also led to his senior international debut for Germany on October 10 against Luxembourg as a substitute. (He could have represented the USMNT instead, but played for Germany at youth level and had his heart set on sticking with his country of birth).

Brown brings speed to the left-back position, but also tactical intelligence. A profile on the Bundesliga’s official website has even likened him to former Manchester City full-back Cancelo, despite being left-footed, as he can play in an inverted role.

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