Manchester City have signed a 17-year-old wonderkid who is ‘faster than Kylian Mbappe’, according to recent data.
City will be looking forward to welcoming an English left-back to their squad in January 2025, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
In recent years, City have gone about their business in a much more sensible fashion than Premier League rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.
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As can be seen from the state-of-the-art facilities at the City Football Academy, the club’s owners have emphasised the importance of younger players coming through the ranks.
City’s worldwide brand, ‘The City Group,’ are set to benefit from having 13 clubs connected through full or partial ownership.
Pep Guardiola’s side are reportedly set to sign Christian McFarlane from MLS side New York City.
McFarlane has drawn comparisons with Real Madrid star Mbappe due to his speed. In fact, he was ranked as the sixth quickest player from Wyscout’s database containing 633,000 players.
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The youngster was born in Basildon, England, but moved to the US at the age of three. He has represented England at U-16 level but has also played for the US at the same age group.
Since then, he has featured for Young Lions at U-17 and U-18 level.
McFarlane has been a highly touted prospect for some time, so much so that New York City offered him his first professional contract when he was just 14 years old, when he became the third youngest professional in MLS history to be handed a pro deal.
By trade, he is a left-back but has been known to play across the backline. The youngster has made eight senior MLS appearances so far this season.
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Despite his talent, McFarlane is unlikely to be put straight into the first team at Man City.
Guardiola has previously spoken about his ethos on younger players. "You have to let each player's body develop,” he told MCFC City TV in 2017.
“Nature is more intelligent than us, and it really decides, and it's no good putting them in the gym to develop. The guy who is going to be faster will be faster, the guy who will be taller, will be taller and the guy who will be stronger, will be stronger.
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"It can go year by year depending on the player. But the important thing is the talent. If they have the talent, they have it regardless of their physique.”
"Sometimes it's a big problem with players who have been told they are good enough by their manager, social media etc. They have to know when they are not good enough,” he added.
"I was manager with players who were 28 years old, and they improved dramatically to the age of 32 because they were still able to learn at that age.
"Sometimes when, when we say players are good and they are 17, we say they are ready for the first team, but no, no, they are just at 10% of where they need to be."
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, MLS, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola
Luke Davies