Man City transfer news: Defender explains “major factor” behind completing transfer to Champions League club

Ligue 1 club Nice have completed the signing of defender Juma Bah on loan from Manchester City.

The 19-year-old penned a long-term agreement with the Citizens in January after making a notable impression in Spain during a six-month spell with Real Valladolid, starting 11 of his 13 La Liga games in the first half of the 2024-25 season.

Bah, a two-cap Sierra Leone international, was then immediately loaned to Lens and started eight of their final 10 matches in the French top flight, helping Les Sang et Or keep four clean sheets and finish the season eighth in the table.

The towering 6ft 5in centre-back, who was spotted at the Etihad Stadium with his agent earlier this month, allegedly weighed up a loan move to Lyon ahead of the new campaign.

However, following confirmation of Lyon’s relegation to Ligue 2 for financial mismanagement, Bah has opted to make the temporary switch to Nice, who finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season and will soon compete in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Commenting on his move to Nice, Bah told the club’s official website: “Nice are a team I know well from my time in Ligue 1. There's quality and experience in every position.

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— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) June 25, 2025

Bah to spend 2025-26 season on loan at Nice

“The coach has very precise, attacking ideas, which all the players stick to, including the defenders. That was a major factor in my choice.

“I'm proud to be joining this club and this project. There are some big dates coming up very early in the summer. It's going to be an exciting season. It's up to me and us to be ready!”

Nice’s sporting director Florian Maurice added: “We've been following his progress together for some time, and we found him to be a very good performer during his time at Lens.

“The numbers show this. Juma is a young player with great potential and, importantly, we think he can quickly adapt to the coach's ideas."

President Jean-Pierre Rivere continued: “He will strengthen an area where we had two major injuries at the end of last season. There's an alignment between our project and his ambitions. Juma joins the group at the start of pre-season, which is ideal for quickly integrating and performing well."

Man City have made the decision to loan out Bah so that he can continue his development at a club where he can gain regular first-team football, with Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad already heavily stocked in the centre-back department.

Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones are all battling for starts in central defence at the Etihad along with January additions Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

Written by
Oliver Thomas