Manchester City sign Jack Harrison, loan him to Middlesbrough after confirming Aymeric Laporte deal

Manchester City have completed the signing of Jack Harrison from their sister club New York City FC. However, the 21-year-old will play no part in Pep Guardiola's immediate plans as he has been loaned to Middlesbrough for the rest of the season.

The England U-21 winger becomes Tony Pulis' first signing after being appointed as Boro manager.

Harrison has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at the Etihad Stadium after impressing in the MLS, which has attracted interest from a host of clubs across Europe. However, City were quick to complete a deal for the youngster, who scored 14 goals in 59 appearances in his spell at the Yankee Stadium.

His fine form had also earned him a call-up to Aidy Boothroyd's England U-21 squad for the Euro 2019 qualifiers against Scotland and Andorra in October last year.

Having moved to the United States as a 14-year-old, this is the first time he will travel to England in a professional capacity and cannot contain his excitement for the future.

"I can't wait to get started over here," he told Manchester City's official website. "I've really enjoyed my time with New York City and I'd like to thank Patrick Vieira and his coaching staff for helping me to develop as a player.

"I feel I've really improved working under him and playing regularly in the MLS, but now I'm looking forward to testing myself in England. Middlesbrough are a good club, with Premier League experience, and they're in the mix for a return via the playoffs this season. Hopefully, I can help them achieve that."

Meanwhile, City also completed the signing of Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao, with the defender putting pen to paper on a deal till 2023. The Citizens have a comfortable lead at the top of the Premier League table and manager Pep Guardiola wants to make sure that they leave no stone unturned in making sure that the club can challenge properly on four fronts.

"I am very happy to be here," Laporte declared. "City are a club with a lot of ambition and they are one of the best teams in Europe. I am looking forward to working under Pep Guardiola and trying to help the club to achieve success. It means a lot that the club have shown faith in me and I am excited to get started."

City are also keen to complete a deal for Leicester City attacker Riyad Mahrez, with Sky Sports reporting that they have now made a third bid, believed to be in the range of £55m. The transfer, if successful, would put Mahrez second among City's most expensive purchases, behind new arrival Laporte.

Mahrez has been lined up after Leroy Sane was ruled out for up to six weeks with ankle ligament damage, while Gabriel Jesus is still recovering from a knee injury.

Guardiola insists that with the schedule that they have, City will need to find solutions as they are short up front.

"I have interest in a lot of players and good players – there are many," Guardiola said ahead of City's match against West Brom at the Etihad on Wednesday, 31 January.

"The transfer window [closes] on the 31st. We spoke many times with the club about what is the best for the players we have and the amount of players we have. Right now, we have just three strikers with Raheem [Sterling]. We don't have more for the next month-and-a-half.

"Leroy [Sane] and Gabriel [Jesus] are coming back in the next five-six weeks, so we don't have too much and we play every three days. We have a lot [of matches], but we want to find solutions."