Dutch Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle have finally confirmed defender Phillipe Sandler is leaving and will ‘move to’ Manchester City, saying: “The farewell players are now saying goodbye to the field. Among them Philippe Sandler, who moved to Manchester City.”

Manchester City and PEC Zwolle agreed a deal for Sandler in February, but neither club had made a confirmation of the transfer until now. City still haven’t made an official announcement, despite the 21-year-old speaking in an interview about the move a number of weeks ago.

Sandler joined PEC Zwolle from Ajax in 2016 and has gone on to make 32 appearances in all competitions. He’s represented the Netherlands national team at U-20 level, making four appearances, and now looks set for a new adventure in England.

First-team football may be hard to come by initially, as City have the likes of Nicolas Otamendi, Vincent Kompany, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Eliaquim Mangala on their books. Kompany could leave this summer, as could Mangala in the coming weeks, but Sandler will still have a big task dethroningthe others.

Despite him being 21, City manager Pep Guardiola could loan the centre-back away for a season this summer, rather than having him play in the reserves. As Sandler has been a first-team regular with PEC Zwolle, It would be somewhat of a setback to stay with the U-23s at a non-competitive level.