Manchester United made eleventh-hour deadline day contact with Manchester City over Rayan Aït-Nouri, but the move went nowhere. City are refusing to entertain any approach, and the Algeria international will stay at the Etihad. United's left-back search is still open, with the club short of senior cover in that area.

United's late move for Ait-Nouri

The approach came on deadline day, which tells you plenty about how urgent the situation was at left-back. United are desperate to bolster that part of the squad, with Luke Shaw their only recognised senior option in the role.

Aït-Nouri has been at City since last summer, when he arrived from Wolves in a £36million move. The timing matters because it left United chasing a player who had only just settled into a new club setup and was never likely to be cheap or easy to shift.

United had already accepted there was no realistic prospect of landing Lewis Hall from Newcastle this summer, and they also looked at Barcelona's Alejandro Balde on loan only before Barcelona preferred a sale. That left them chasing alternatives late in the window rather than moving from a position of strength.

Why City said no

City's stance was straightforward. According to the Manchester Evening News report quoted by dailystar.co.uk, United made the late contact, but "the Blues are refusing to entertain any approach and the Algeria international will remain at the Etihad."

The left-back picture at City also helps explain the refusal. Nico O'Reilly has established himself as City's preferred left-back, while Josko Gvardiol has also featured there in the opening two fixtures of the campaign. Ait-Nouri has made 31 appearances for City since arriving, and only 2 of those have come in Premier League play in 2026. Across all competitions, he has made 4 appearances this season.

His rating has been decent when he has played, with a 7.2 Premier League mark, but the minutes have been limited enough that an exit was always a long shot. United's search now carries on without the quick fix they tried to get on deadline day.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →