Manchester City are relaxed about potentially losing a third young player of potential in two years, with Rabbi Matondo expected to move to Schalke for around £12m.
If the 18-year-old does join the German club, he will follow Jadon Sancho, who signed for Borussia Dortmund in summer 2017, and Brahim Díaz, who left for Real Madrid this month.
However it is understood City are not worried that this represents a concerning trend of promising youngsters departing, instead believing each player has a unique set of circumstances.
There is a confidence at the club that City’s youth setup is producing a number of potential first-team players who are bound to attract attention from outside and bids.
Matondo made his Wales debut in a friendly against Albania in November but has never played for City’s first team and the club are thought to be privately delighted with the fee agreed with Schalke.
If they receive £12m, that would be £3m less than Real paid for Díaz and £4m more than was received for Sancho two summers ago. Although Matondo is considered a prospect, coaches at City do not rate him in the same bracket as Díaz or Sancho.
While the winger is particularly quick, ranking as fast as Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling, the view at City is that Matondo would have only a slim chance of dislodging either of these wide players, with Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva also ahead of him.
Díaz was widely considered to be more of first-team quality than Matondo and the 19-year-old’s decision to move to Real represents a different set of circumstances.
City’s view is that Díaz, as a Spaniard, was understandably attracted by a move to his homeland’s most successful club and given the ages of Sterling, 24, and Sané, 23, in particular, felt his pathway to a starting berth was blocked.
City wanted to retain Díaz, as they did Sancho, who left when he was 17, but a transfer which could rise to £22m with add-ons was viewed as a success for all parties. The champions were adequately remunerated, the player and Real are content and relations between the two clubs have proved mutually beneficial, which bodes well for future deals.
Phil Foden, unlike Matondo, is considered to be at the same level as Díaz and Sancho. One of the players ahead of the 18-year-old midfielder in Pep Guardiola’s team is David Silva. In contrast to Sterling and Sané, Silva turned 33 this month and he has previously said his current contract may be his last in the Premier League. This expires in summer 2020. So, if Silva does leave then, Foden will just have celebrated his 20th birthday, his integration into the senior squad this season upping his first-team minutes and preparing him for a potential starting berth.
Whereas Sancho never played for the first team, Díaz was being eased into the squad, making 14 appearances while Foden has made 28. The closest Matondo has got to senior football was on last summer’s pre-season tour of the US; he was never selected by Guardiola in the squad for a competitive match.
Guardiola, asked on Monday about Matondo’s prospective move to Schalke, whom City play in the Champions League last-16 tie next month, was hardly effusive in his assessment of the player. “Yeah, I have some comments – I know how good he is, incredibly fast winger, and a young talent,” the manager said. “This club is working so good. All the players in the academy, we trust them. If they want to be patient and stay; if they want to leave, they leave.”
A host of other clubs were interested in Matondo, whose contract expires next summer, but Schalke met City’s valuation. Once this occurred the club decided not to make a concerted play to retain him, as they did with Sancho and Díaz, who were each offered contracts competitive with, respectively, Dortmund and Real.