French Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens are pushing to retain Sierra Leonean defender Juma Ba ahead of the new campaign.
Ba, who is the books of Premier League outfit Manchester City spent the second half of the campaign on loan at RC Lens, making 10 appearances in the Ligue 1.
He joined Manchester City in January 2025 from Valladolid for €6 million, but was immediately loaned out to French side Lens.
The 19-year-old defender is not guaranteed of enough playing time at Manchester City next season. However, the Premier League outfit intend to farm out the centre-back on loan for the second time, allowing the player to gain valuable top-level experience and potentially return to the team in the future ready for a bigger role.
According to reports, Lens have made contact with Manchester City over a fresh loan for centre-back this window. The French club is hoping to retain his services for one more season and have set their conditions regarding salary coverage to the Premier League club for a loan without any purchase option attached.
However, Lens are fully aware that they are not the only club interested in the young defender.
With this in mind, Lens are not putting all their eggs in one basket, and are keeping track of alternatives if their approach is rejected by City.
The centre of defence remains a key area to reinforce over the summer, following the departures of Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin Danso during the winter window.
