Manchester City To Send Midfielder On Season-Long Loan To Portugal

Manchester City are set to send yet another young prospect out on loan ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Pep Guardiola’s men have already loaned out academy stars James Trafford, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Tommy Doyle to Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and Sheffield United respectively.

But the latest name to seal a temporary move away from the club is a name most Manchester City fans will be a lot less familiar with.

Brazilian midfielder Diego Rosa (19) was first reported to have signed for Manchester City in the summer of 2020, with the initial fee said at the time to be £4.5 million rising to as much as £21.5 million, if certain conditions are met.

Restrictions prevented the youngster from moving to England until he turned 18 years-old that October and, after leaving Gremio for City, he was swiftly loaned out to Lommel S.K. in Belgium’s second division.

There, he made regular appearances, with Lommel being part of the City Football Group since May 2020.

It now looks like Manchester City plan to give the talented young Brazilian another loan move next season, this time to Portugal instead of Belgium.

According to national outlet O Jogo, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, the player will join top-flight side FC Vizela for the upcoming campaign.

This could be an ideal move for the youngster, who already speaks the language and could thrive in a league known for developing excellent future prospects. 

It is too early to be sure whether Manchester City see Rosa as a potential first-team candidate or if the intention is to sell him for a profit, but the inclusion of performance-related add-ons in his transfer from Gremio implies that the club sees it as a possibility.

In the era of the City Football Group, Manchester City have employed a successful model of scouting and signing promising young talent, or developing them in the youth academy, before loaning them out and selling them on for profit.

The most recent example is goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu who, after successful loan spells at Rochdale and Portsmouth that caught the eye of Premier League scouts, signed for Southampton last month for a reported fee of £12 million.

But it doesn’t always work out, with players like Patrick Roberts eventually leaving on a free transfer after Manchester City were unable to sell him.

Factors like injuries and luck can lead to the occasional heavy loss on such a signing.

Of course, in rare cases such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, a player intended to be flipped for profit can prove a valuable asset for the senior squad under Pep Guardiola.

Whether Diego Rosa will follow the path of Bazunu, Roberts or Zinchenko remains to be seen, though the situation could become clearer if his loan to Vizela materialises.