City profits from academy windfall

Manchester City sells Callum Doyle to Wrexham for £7.5m with a buy-back option and a 25% sell-on clause.

City profits from academy windfall as Doyle completes move to Wrexham

Manchester City have sold academy defender Callum Doyle to Wrexham for £7.5 million. The deal includes a buy-back option and a 25% sell-on clause, giving City a future route back if Doyle excels at the Racecourse Ground. Doyle, 21, came through City’s academy and has five England Under-21 caps, but never established himself in the first team.

Wrexham, backed by Randall Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are continuing to invest as they bid to climb higher in the Championship. They recently signed Nathan Broadhead for £10 million, a sign of their rising profile as they push to sustain a promotion push. City’s sale also fits a wider pattern this summer, with academy graduates moving on for sizable fees while the club builds a pool of transfer income from players who never fully broke into the first team.

City’s approach shows a balance between developing players and monetising their sale value. The buy-back option protects a future option while the 25% fee keeps City involved in any long-term upside. This reflects a broader trend among top clubs to fund operation costs and potential reinvestment through youth departures rather than only chasing signings for the first team.

Wrexham’s activity mirrors a different ambition: use bold recruitment to accelerate their ascent in the league. The club’s spending, paired with a growing academy pipeline, underscores how financial power and sporting aims are increasingly tied together in mid-table and rising teams.

Highlights

The market for young players is now a constant pressure point in the sport.