Tosin return would be a boost for the Blues
YOUNG DEFENDER CAN SHOW LOAN SYSTEM WORKS
TOSIN Adarabioyo returning to the first team would tick many boxes for City.
Linking the youth set-up with the senior side remains the dream for any academy and filling Pep Guardiola’s squad with as many homegrown stars as possible has been a hope of the owners for some time.
Adarabioyo would also represent a significant victory for the loan approach.
The club puts considerable resources into sending lots of players out to lots of different leagues and clubs, with staff on hand to check on progress and help them develop away from the Etihad.
At present, though, there have been no success stories from that with Aleks Zinchenko and Angelino the only two you could make a very weak case for – one fought his way into the first-team following a spell at PSV only by turning down moves to go elsewhere that the club were happy to sanction and waiting for unexpected circumstances at leftback, and the other returned to that position having been sold to PSV after a loan at NAC Breda. By deliberately keeping Eric Garcia and Phil Foden in Manchester, however, the pattern seems to be that a loan move will not improve your firstteam chances at the Etihad. Adarabioyo rejoining the senior squad after two years on loan proving himself in the Championship would send an important message about pathways at the club. But Guardiola does not care for messages or statements, only for winning every single trophy going. It is why City have scooped eight of the last nine domestically – playing strong teams in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup even against lower league opposition – and why he has made clear that players will not be handed appearances or opportunities for the sake of it.
Clearly, the manager saw something in Adarabioyo when he arrived at the Etihad in 2016 for the defender to be integrated into the first-team and, after a stand-off that went down to the 11th hour and 59th minute, a lucrative new contract at the end of that season.
Given the uncertainty expected in the transfer market, Adarabioyo’s chances of another chance at City should be higher. A 22-year-old made in the club’s academy that has proven himself in a difficult league has the makings of a useful player.
Yet it also appears telling that he was not recalled from Blackburn this season when the Blues were struggling so much in Aymeric Laporte’s absence. Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis have since impressed from the academy in that position, and they may be better placed to benefit should City not be able to buy the defensive targets that they had earmarked.
What the club decide to do either way will send an important message to City’s other hopefuls, but it is unlikely Guardiola’s principles will change.
Guardiola does not care for messages, only for winning every single trophy going Simon Bajkowski