Preparing for the future, Manchester City have, over the past few seasons, been stepping up in their youth recruitment, or at least in their purchase of young exciting talent from around the world.
The Premier League club spent a combined £35m on three 19-year-olds in the summer, as well as £42.5m on Leroy Sané from Schalke, just to ensure the club’s future once the old guard call it a day, or to make a profit.
One of the 19-year-olds, Marlos Moreno, was sent straight out on loan to Deportivo La Coruña in Spain, where he has managed to make a few appearances (four in total), without having much of an impact.
The player, speaking to Marca on Thursday, is aware of this, and explained how he needs to improve if he is to stay in Gaizka Garitano’s team.
He said: “Thank God, the manager is relying a lot on me, and I want to repay that trust. As the games go by, I’ll start showing more. So far, I haven’t shown what I can bring to the team. We go from strength to strength
“The attitude is to bring the maximum to the team, and maybe I try to hard and make a mistake. Maybe I need to be calmer. Sometimes, the game lends itself for someone to do something individual. I need to improve on that, but as I progress, I’ll get confidence.”
Frankly, with that attitude, and more game time under his belt, there is no reason the young Colombian cannot have a future at Manchester City.
Of course, it all depends on how much he actually improves over the coming months, but it’s clear Pep Guardiola’s side saw enough in him to spend £5m to bring him to England.
It’s probably best to trust them for now.
