SA teenager tries out for Manchester City
SA youth international goalkeeper Constandino “Costi” Christodoulou has gone on a dream trial with English champions Manchester City and could be in line to become the country’s next export to the Premier League.
The 16-year-old Hilton College pupil‚ who trains with Maritzburg United‚ is the captain of SA’s under-17 team and played for them in the Cosafa Championship in Mauritius in July‚ where the side narrowly missed out on a place at the African U-17 Championship in Tanzania.
Christodoulou is the youngest player to have played in the Diski Challenge league and is highly rated by Maritzburg coach Fadlu Davids‚
The teenager flew to Britain at the weekend‚ took in the derby between Manchester City and Manchester United on Sunday and began his trial at the club on Monday.
STRONG SIGNAL
City have flown him over for two weeks and completed all the legal documentation required by the Premier League for him to trial with them at their academy‚ which is a strong signal of their intent. The English champions have been tracking the player since he made his debut for Amajimbos when he was just 15 years old.
Christodoulou has been training at Maritzburg over the past two years. The club picks him up from school‚ where he is boarding‚ on a daily basis.
Because he averages a pass mark of some 90% for his subjects‚ Hilton College allows him to train in the mornings and catch up with school work later.
● Bafana Bafana’s hopes of persuading teenage Crystal Palace defender Nikola Tavares to play for the national side have been dealt a blow after he linked up with the Croatia Under-20 side this week.
The 19-year-old has recently returned from long-term injury and has been playing for the Palace Under-23 side over the past month.
Bafana coach Stuart Baxter had discussions with the Cape Town-born player earlier this year about representing SA and felt he had positive feedback.
But Tavares‚ who has Croatian citizenship through his mother‚ looks set to stay with Croatia, having previously played for their Under-18 side.