Rayan Ait-Nouri arrived at Manchester City from Wolves in 2025 and put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the club.
Manchester City paid around £31M to sign the left-back/left-winger, and the total price of the deal can rise up to £36M with add-ons.
Since his arrival at the club, Ait-Nouri has made 33 appearances in all competitions and provided nine assists in the process.
The 25-year-old has yet to establish himself as a regular in the starting eleven, and has been mostly limited to substitute appearances and appearances in cup competitions.
Manchester City are stacked in the left-back position, as they have Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly, and Josko Gvardiol, who can also play as a centre-back in their roster.
Ait-Nouri has found it difficult to get into the team under former manager Pep Guardiola, and things have not changed much under new boss Enzo Maresca.
The lack of regular playing time in the starting eleven has seen Ait-Nouri’s market value take a hit, and it appears that he has taken measures to counter the situation.
According to TeamTalk, Ait-Nouri has decided to change his agent, and he has signed with Ali Barat’s agency, Epic Sports.
Ait-Nouri was previously managed by CAA Stellar, but due to a lack of game time and decreasing market value, it is believed that he made the decision to change his agent.
The 25-year-old can play as a left-back, left wing-back, as well as a left-winger at times, which displays his ability to adapt according to the manager’s strategy.
Besides that, the Algerian international rarely cracks under opposition pressure, can dribble out of tight spaces, and has the ability to provide link-breaking passes into the final third.
In some quarters, it has been suggested that the change is due to the fact that Ait-Nouri could be looking for a move away from the Etihad Stadium next season.
As per Foot Africa, Ait-Nouri’s market value has decreased from £40M to £35M, and this is due to the fact that he is not playing regular football at Manchester City as well as the Algerian national team.
In the recent match between Algeria vs Zambia in September, Ait-Nouri warmed up twice, but ultimately did not come on as a substitue and was left frustated on the bench.
Following the incident, he was released from the squad and returned to Manchester City, but at the club level he is not an integral part of boss Maresca’s system.
This term, the 25-year-old has played 15 minutes in the UEFA Champions League and 90 minutes in the EFL Cup, and he has chipped in with three assists.
However, he has not been able to cement his place in the starting eleven under Maresca, which has affected his market value, as he is only used as a rotational player in the Manchester City team.
It remains to be seen whether Rayan Ait-Nouri will leave the Eithad Stadium to make a fresh start with a new team in the upcoming winter transfer window or he will wait till the end of the season.
