Udinese will go young in trying to replace Kevin Lasagna, who moved to Verona, as they are slated to add Jayden Braff from Manchester City. The news was first reported by the Daily Mail and confirmed by Tuttomercatoweb.
The 18-year-old will join on loan with €11M option to buy, according to Sky Sport UK as the Citizens preferred this formula over selling him to Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen and keeping a buy-back clause or a percentage on a future sale.
Braaf moved to England from PSV in August of 2018. He has appeared just twice in official matches so far this season. In the previous campaign, he has notched 12 goals and three assists in 29 games with Manchester City U23 between Premier League 2, FA Youth Cup, Youth League and EFL Trophy. He has yet to make his first-team debut.
Coach Luca Gotti was asked about him in the post-game of the Spezia match: “After looking at his tape, my first impression was very positive, I think he is extremely talented. I even wondered if we were really getting that kind of player. From what I have seen, he has top-notch skills and a very high ceiling. I will reach out to Enzo Maresca that coached him.”
The starlet will be the second offensive reinforcement brought in by Udinese after they previously added Fernando Llorente on a free transfer from Napoli. They have been very short-handed up front for some time as Stefano Okaka and Fernando Forestieri missed time with thigh injuries, while Ignacio Pussetto will likely be sidelined the rest of the season due to an ACL tear.