Are Manchester City over Ola Aina? Newcastle star eyed as potential Kyle Walker replacement

Former English Premier League champions Manchester City have identified Newcastle United star Tino Livramento as their number one target to replace Kyle Walker, thereby pushing speculations linking them to Ola Aina aside, Soccernet.ng reports.

Super Eagles star Aina has enjoyed a brilliant campaign with Nottingham Forest. In fact, in terms of performance and results, this is his best season.

His performances have helped the Tricky Trees reach 7th in the Premier League, with a good shot at qualifying for the UEFA Champions League if they win their final game of the season against Chelsea.

Following Aina's impressive performances, he has been linked with a transfer to top Premier League clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City.

In fact, it looked like the Cityzens could acquire his services in January as a replacement for Kyle Walker, but nothing concrete happened.

Ahead of the summer transfer window, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Walker will leave Manchester City.

More on Manchester City plans. ✨

Pep confirms today that Kyle Walker won’t be part of the future plans, he will leave this summer. ❌

…and Tino Livramento remains the #1 target at right back, won’t be easy deal with Newcastle. ⤵️ https://t.co/tkkofyCir5

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 23, 2025

However, they are not looking at Aina as a replacement. Instead, Newcastle's Livramento has been named as their number one target.

The 22-year-old right-back has been a key player for the Magpies this season as he has played in 36 of the Magpies' 37 Premier League games.

Why Manchester City prefer Tino Livramento to Ola Aina?

Over the last two years, Ola Aina has proven to be a very good player. He is strong, quick, and very solid in one-on-one situations.

However, Manchester City's preference for Tino Livramento can be tied to the fact that he is an Englishman, and he would add to their quota of English players in the squad.

Also, Livramento is six years younger than Aina, who is 28. The Super Eagles star will likely give City three or four years of top-level consistency.

On the other hand, Livramento still has a lot of years ahead of him. And with the Cityzens looking to rebuild their squad after a difficult campaign, they would need mainly younger players.

Will Ola Aina leave Nottingham Forest?

It appears that Ola Aina will stay at Nottingham Forest, as although his contract is expected to expire in the summer, there is a one-year extension clause in his deal that has been triggered since the Tricky Trees have avoided relegation.

Nonetheless, the club are still trying to get the former Chelsea man to sign an extension to keep him at the club beyond next season.

Nothing is concrete yet, but Aina will likely stay at Nottingham beyond this season.