Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea in three-way battle to sign second generation star Sol Sidibe

Stoke City midfield prospect Sol Sidibe is considered a hot property right now with Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all holding an interest in signing the youngster.

The teenager is the son of former Stoke striker Mamady Sidibe who made 186 appearances for the Potters and netted 26 goals along with 14 assists.

Highly-rated as a prospect, he has already received and

TBR Football reports that Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea have all shown an interest in signing the highly-rated young midfielder.

Fellow Midlands clubs Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also keen on signing the 17-year-old.

Man City are known to be concerned about the long-term outlook of their midfield given the demands made of players in Pep Guardiola’s engine room.

The Premier League champions had a quiet transfer window but brought in former Citizen Ilkay Gundogan to shore up the midfield with Kalvin Phillips sent out on another loan. Man City have just one first team central midfielder who is under 25 in the shape of James McAtee.

Arsenal brought in Mikel Merino in the current window but the Spaniard has yet to play for the Gunners after picking up a knock in training. The Gunners play with their central midfielders quite deep and use a midfield three that plays quite narrow.

Chelsea continue to chase all the top young talents around the English game with restrictions now placed on recruiting Under-18s from outside of the United Kingdom.

Where is the ideal spot for Sol Sidibe

Sidibe has been quickly elevated through the system at Stoke City and recently made his first start for the club. With the transfer window now closed the earliest he could possibly leave Stoke would be in January and what goes on in the next few months could go a long way towards determining his future.

At a critical stage of his development as a player he may well be better of staying at Stoke City for the next few seasons at least even if the club are unable to fight their way back into the top-flight.

The Potters are off to a poor start to their season having lost three of their five matches and have given their coach the sack. With a new coach set to come in at Stoke City the next few months will be full of intrigue regarding a young talent who had been favoured by Steven Schumacher.

An immediate move to a Premier League outfit seems unlikely unless the clubs intend to loan him back out to ensure that his development continues at a good pace.

Other interest and Stoke’s desire to keep him

While a move to Aston Villa, Wolves or Nottingham Forest would still represent a massive step up for Sidibe it is likely that he would have a smoother path to first-team football at Stoke’s Midlands

Stoke City are well aware that they have a potential diamond on their hands and recently tied the youngster to a new three-year deal.

“Sol is clearly a player of significant potential and someone who has a real understanding of what it means to represent Stoke City having been with the club since he was eight,” sporting director Jonathan Walters told the club’s website, external.

“He’s a great example to others on our pathway of what can be achieved, even in a relatively short space of time, if you show the right dedication and commitment.”

What do we know about Sol Sidibe

Born in Paris in February 2007, Sol is the son of former Stoke City star Mamady Sidibe.

He joined the Potters when he was eight years old and worked his way through the ranks, featuring for their Under-18s just two months after his 15th birthday.

While his dad played as a striker and scored 26 goals for Stoke, Sol is a central midfielder with excellent technical ability.

“He’s able to do both sides of the game in terms of what we want from a midfielder,” Under-21s coach Alex Morris said.

“He’s athletic enough to fulfil his defensive duties, but also, he has got that quality on the ball which will allow him to create goals and get him into positions where he can score some goals as well.

“It is pleasing, and I think it is reflective of the hard work that Sol puts in.”

In August 2023, he made his senior debut against Rotherham United at the age of 16 years and 176 days and became the second-youngest player to represent the first team in a league fixture.

The midfielder made his first senior start three days later when the Potters defeated West Bromwich Albion in the Carabao Cup.

“I thought his performance justified why he’s been with the first team all pre-season and why I played him in the game,” the then-Stoke manager Alex Neil said after the game.

“I had no concerns over him. He’s a terrific talent but he’s also really mature, for being so young.

“He did exactly as I expected him to do – he did wonderfully well and he’s played in a Stoke team that won the game, and played the majority of the match.

“I think when you’re 16 years old, most players of that age could only dream of doing something like that.”

He finished the 2023/24 campaign with eight first-team appearances in all competitions, and he also registered one goal and four assists in 14 appearances for their Under-21s in Premier League 2.

“He was brilliant when he came on,” former Stoke manager Steven Schumacher said after a game against Bristol City on the final day of the season.

“I didn’t think he put a foot wrong, didn’t pass the ball away once. It was an excellent performance from him and he’s one for the future. He’s been one of the best players in Ryan (Shawcross) and Alex (Morris)’s under-21s team all season so I’m delighted for him.”

The 17-year-old signed his first professional contract with Stoke in the summer and has made a strong start to the 2024/25 season

He came off the bench to register an assist in their 1-0 win over Plymouth and made his first Championship start in their 1-0 defeat against Oxford United.

Despite being born in France and having the option of representing both Senegal and Mali, Sidibe has played for England at Under-18 level as he grew up in Stoke-on-Trent.

He has made five appearances for the Under-18s and recently registered an assist for Liverpool’s Trey Nyoni in a 1-1 draw against France.