Youngster Diaz is a wanted man
CITY starlet Brahim Diaz is wanted on loan by his former club Malaga next season.
But Blues boss Pep Guardiola is expected to run the rule over the exciting 17-year-old this summer as he seeks young recruits to his first-team squad.
Malaga owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani has told coach Michel to pursue the youngster, who is from the town.
City snapped up the attacking midfielder for an initial £200,000 as a 16-year-old in 2015, and he has been a revelation in the youth ranks.
Guardiola has already said he wants to take ‘four or five’ of the current youth team when the Blues head to the USA in the summer for pre-season training and tour.
Diaz is expected to be one of that number, alongside England under-17 stars Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden – who have just helped fire the national team into the quarter-finals of the European Under-17 Championship.
But once he has assessed where he thinks Diaz is in terms of his career, a decision will be made on whether the teenager remains in the elite development squad, moves up to join the first-team players – or heads out on loan.
He has formed an exciting trio in this year’s team which reached the FA Youth Cup final, along with Foden and Sancho – but Diaz is a year ahead of the other two, who are both eligible for next season’s tournament.
Diaz turns 18 in August, and City underlined the fact they feel he has a bright future by signing him on a threeyear professional contract in September.
That came a week after he made his Blues debut as a substitute in the EFL Cup win at Swansea.
That 10-minute appearance at the Liberty Stadium added a chunk to the fee payable to Malaga, which could rise to £3.8m if he wins a full international cap for Spain.
Sancho and Foden have so far helped England Under-17s into the last eight of the European Championship with three wins from three in the group stage.
Sancho has already been singled out as one of the stars of the tournament with three goals and three assists, while Foden has weighed in with a stunning strike against Norway.
England will now face Ireland in the quarter-finals tomorrow, and the winners of that will take on either Hungary or Turkey in the semi-finals next Tuesday.
City goalkeeper Curtis Anderson, tipped to step up and become the Blues’ under-18 regular next season, has been on the bench for the three group games. Fancy winning a pair of tickets to see City take on West Brom at the Etihad Stadium next week?
The Blues host the Baggies on Tuesday (8pm kick-off) in their final home match of the season and will hope to sign off at the Etihad with a win as they look to guarantee Champions League football next season.
To win a pair of tickets, simply visit our Facebook page ManCityMEN for details.
Tickets are available now from £20 for Adults and from £5 for Under 16s. Book your tickets now at mancity.com/ tickets.