RB LEIPZIG are leading the race for Manchester City’s young striker Lukas Nmecha.
Up to five German clubs have registered their interest in the 22-year-old who is set to leave the Etihad this summer.
But Leipzig believe they are at the head of the queue to land the Germany Under-21 ace, rated at £8.5million by City.
He spent last season on loan at Anderlecht where he became of the most prolific strikers in Belgium after scoring 18 goals in 37 matches.
He also caught the eye at the Under-21 European Championships, scoring the winning goal in the final for Germany against Portugal, as well as finishing as the tournament’s top goalscorer with four strikes.
Nmecha recently confirmed he will not be returning for a second season at Anderlecht, where Man City legend Vincent Kompany is the manager.
RB Leipzig, Stuttgart, and Eintracht Frankfurt are all interested in Nmecha this summer.
Kompany, 35, took Nmecha under his wing in his final seasons at City, and their relationship blossomed last season at Anderlecht.
Nmecha said: “Kompany roughs me up in training but he’s really given me a lot of confidence because he’s played against the best strikers in the world and he’s telling me I can make it.t him being pigeon-holed as a ‘target man.’
“Kompany has told me what he doesn’t like playing against.
“If I hold it up against him I might lose the battle, so it’s more about running in behind and using my pace.
“I like going up against centre-halves, but I also like playing so I don’t want to overdo it. I don’t just want to be the big guy up front.”
Nmecha was born in Hamburg, Germany, to a German mother and a Nigerian father but relocated to England as a child with his family.
Nmecha joined the City academy at the age of nine in 2007.
He made his senior City debut in an EFL Cup quarter-final against Leicester in December 2017.
His only two Premier League appearances for City were as a substitute in 2018 and only amounted to 14 minutes.
He is a current Germany U21 international, despite being capped three times by England at the same level.
Nmecha’s younger brother Felix, 20, is also on Man City’s books, and has played four times for England Under 19s.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
