The 25-year-old German midfield powerhouse was thought to be Newcastle United's preferred option should captain Bruno Guimaraes decide to join Anthony Gordon and leave the Magpies in this summer's transfer window.
Nmecha only wants a Manchester club
However, reports in Germany would suggest that the player has no interest in moving to Tyneside. Furthermore, it's believed that Manchester is a destination he likes, with the only choice being between United and City.
Given that it's understood that the Red Devils have already been in direct contact, they've stolen a march on their rivals, for the time being at least.
With Germany having been surprisingly knocked out of the World Cup on penalties by Paraguay, talks on the player's future can now be front and centre, once he's had time to rest and recuperate ahead of pre-season.
The other piece of the puzzle that has fallen into place is, unfortunately, a long-term injury to Manuel Ugarte, with the Uruguayan expected to be out of action for much of the 2026/27 season.
Is he worth €120m?
Therefore, if Michael Carrick and the United board can construct a deal which works for all parties, Nmecha might well be signing on the dotted line sooner rather than later.
With Dortmund known to want €120m for their player's services, and given that he only signed an extension to 2030 in March, this is a transfer that might take a little longer to get across the line.
The Red Devils would do well not to dilly dally, mind you, as Enzo Maresca begins his revolution just across town at the Etihad Stadium.
What is it about Nmecha that's so coveted, though?
All-round talent
Despite being a more defensive central midfielder, his six goals (seven if you include last summer's Club World Cup) and three assists in all competitions were still the joint sixth-best in the entire Dortmund squad during 2025/26.
He was also one of only five players to play more than 3,000 cumulative minutes across the campaign.
55 tackles attempted had him in the upper bracket for this metric in the squad, but his success rate of 52.73% was one of the lowest, and would certainly need addressing by any prospective employer.
Only Jobe Bellingham, Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck made more interceptions than Nmecha's 37, and the latter's winning back of possession on no less than 159 separate occasions placed him fifth in this regard.
Nmecha must quickly get used to physical Premier League
The physical nature of the Premier League often sorts the men out from the boys, too, and those who've not experienced the English top-flight can sometimes take longer than normal to settle back into their usual rhythm.
Defensive midfield for Man Utd is one of the most important and demanding roles for a player signed by the Red Devils, so Nmecha would ideally need to hit the ground running.
287 duels attempted was only the seventh best output in the Dortmund squad, whilst his success rate of 56.45% at least redressed the balance a little.
It's also worth pointing out that the midfielder didn't receive a single yellow card throughout the previous campaign, and considering there's a high chance of mistiming a tackle in the areas of the pitch that Nmecha patrols, that's a significant statistic.
No time like the present...
One other area where he excelled was with his passing range, and that will delight Carrick and Co.
In 25/26, Nmecha attempted 1,606 passes and completed 1,390, giving him a healthy completion rate of 86.55%.
If we just take passes ending in the final third into account, his 544 attempts were only behind Schlotterbeck's total of 633, though Nmecha's 76.47% success was a marginal improvement on Schlotterbeck's 75.67%.
No one comes close to Nmecha's 40% crossing success, and that could well be an added bonus for a squad who will be going through yet another period of transition, as Carrick continues to mould his players into the sort of outfit he expects to see playing week in and week out.
With time now of the essence, just how quickly United are prepared to move will largely dictate where Nmecha ends up playing next season, and it's clear that they need someone with his presence at the Theatre of Dreams.