Youngsters going Dutch for season
CITY have sent another trio of young players out on loan to Dutch club NAC Breda.
Young French striker Thierry Ambrose and exciting attacking midfielder Paolo Fernandes will spend next season on loan at the newlypromoted club, which means they will gain top-flight experience.
The will be joined by Pablo Mari, who was signed by the Blues last summer but spent last season with Girona in Spain – a club with close ties to City.
Ambrose was being touted as the next big thing at the Blues two years ago, but a serious knee injury saw him miss nearly a year of football from December 2015 to November last year.
That was followed by another knee problem which kept him out for a further three months Since then the 20-year-old has been piecing his career back together – and managed to end last season with six goals from five starts.
Fernandes had an impressive season for the elite development squad last season, scoring 13 goals in 31 starts from midfield. The 18-year-old has flourished since he was moved from a wide role into a central No. 10 position, and developed a reputation for scoring eye-catching goals.
Mari is a 23-year-old central defender who has never been part of the City set-up, despite the fact they signed him from Gimnastic Tarragona last year.
He made just eight appearances for Girona as they won promotion to La Liga, but will now head to Breda.
Meanwhile, Angus Gunn admits he joined Norwich on loan because he ‘found it difficult’ to make the final breakthrough at City. Pep Guardiola promoted the 21-year-old to the club’s first-team squad, but he failed to make an appearance under the Catalan last season.
Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero instead battled it out to be No.1 following Joe Hart’s departure to Torino in August.
With Ederson having since completed his £40m move from Benfica, Gunn admits the chance to follow in the footsteps of his father, Bryan, at Carrow Road was a no-brainer.
“I found it difficult at Manchester City to get a chance because of the quality of player there,” he said.
“Maybe a few of the lads here with England are in a similar situation. If you are not pushing for a start in the Premier League then you need to be looking for football elsewhere.
“It is part of growing up and being a younger player at a Premier League club.”