Manchester City have been smashing goalscoring records in a breathless start to the season to see them top the Premier League.
But the Blues have set another, more bizarre, record – by loaning out TWO whole teams of players, believed to be more than any other club in history.
As well as farming out unwanted big-name stars Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, the Blues have set up temporary deals for eight more players from the fringes of the first-team squad.
And with their withdrawal from the Barclay’s Premier Reserve League and early exit from the new European youth competition the NextGen Series, the Blues have decided to send out more of their youngsters for valuable experience. That takes the number of Blues players plying their trade as loanees to a staggering 24, from Rochdale to Real Betis.
Adebayor and Santa Cruz have been sent out to ease some of the pressure on the wage bill, while others have gone to get games under their belt – like Dedryck Boyata, goalkeeper David Gonzalez and Michael Johnson.
But the vast majority are aged under 23 and are out to get valuable first-team experience.
Here, M.E.N. Sport catches up with City’s other two ‘teams’.
DAVID GONZALEZ (Aberdeen, until December 31) Age: 29. Colombia international signed in January 2010 spent last season on loan at Leeds as understudy to Kasper Schmeichel without playing. Has played 13 games in Scotland, with three clean sheets.
DEDRYCK BOYATA (Bolton, June 30, 2012) Age: 20. Belgium defender joined City in 2006 and was club’s Young Player of the Year last season. Played six games for Bolton, but now back at City for treatment on ankle injury.
GREG CUNNINGHAM (Notts Forest, December 31) Age: 20. Republic of Ireland left-back joined City in 2007 and has two first-team appearances. Played three games but has suffered an ankle injury.
ABDI IBRAHIM (NEC Nijmegen, June 2012) Age: 20. Norway under-21 midfielder made City debut at Scunthorpe in FA Cup in 2010, and went on loan there last season. Has played three games in Dutch league.
MICHAEL JOHNSON (Leicester, June 2012) Age: 23. Urmston-born England under-21 star who has been plagued by injuries since making City debut at 18 and impressing hugely. Signed by former boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and has played seven games for the Foxes.
ABDUL RAZAK (Portsmouth, November) Age: 18. Ivorian midfielder made his full City debut this season but is now expected to stay at Pompey. Has made two appearances for the Championship club.
VLADIMIR WEISS (Espanyol, June 2012) Age: 21. Slovakia winger was a star of City’s 2008 FA Youth Cup triumph and has a first-team game under his belt. Loaned to Bolton, then Rangers last season, and has five appearances in La Liga this season.
EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR (Tottenham, June 2012) Age: 27. The £25million Mark Hughes signing fell out of favour with Roberto Mancini and spent half of last season on loan at Real Madrid. Has three goals in eight games for Spurs in the current season.
ROQUE SANTA CRUZ (Real Betis, June 2012) Age: 30. Bought from Blackburn for £17.5million in 2009, the Paraguay striker played 20 games for the Blues, scoring three goals, before going back to Ewood Park on loan last season. Has scored twice in eight games for La Liga mid-table side Betis.
ALEX NIMELY-TCHUIMENI (Middlesbrough, December) Age: 20. The England under-20 striker has one City game under his belt. Six games for Boro, with no goals, have seen him called into England under-21 squad, only for injury to force him out.
JEREMY HELAN (Carlisle, November) Age: 19. Talented France under-19 midfielder signed from Rennes, who claimed he was poached, in 2009. Spent a month in Cumbria but returned to City yesterday after ending his loan.
HARRY BUNN (Rochdale, December) Age: 18. Son of ex-Oldham hero Frankie, the pacy striker has been a regular for City’s elite development squad. Joined up with former academy coach Steve Eyre, now Dale boss, and scored first senior goal this week.
LUCA SCAPUZZI (Oldham, January) Age: 20. Italian striker, released by AC Milan in 2009, made City debut in Carling Cup this season after surprise signing in the summer. Scored first senior goal for Latics this week.
ANDREAS MANCINI (Oldham, December) Age: 19. Son of City manager Roberto, joined City in 2010 after being released by Bologna. Mancini joined Oldham in same deal as Scapuzzi.
LORIS KARIUS (Mainz, December) Age: 18. Germany under-19 goalkeeper signed from Stuttgart in 2009. Allowed to return to Bundesliga side, but has so far made five appearances for the reserve team.
KIERAN TRIPPIER (Burnley, June 2012) Age: 21. The Bury-born right-back was an FA Youth Cup winner in 2008. Yet to play in City’s first team, he spent last season at Barnsley and is doing well for the Clarets.
BEN MEE (Burnley, June 2012) Age: 22. Another FA Youth Cup winner, central defender Mee has one Carling Cup appearance to his name for City. Spent half of last season at Leicester and has been a Burnley regular this campaign.
RYAN McGIVERN (Bristol City, June 2012) Age: 21. The Northern Ireland international left back also won the FA Youth Cup. He has since had loans at Morecamble, Leicester, Walsall and Crystal Palace and is now first choice at Bristol.
REECE WABARA (Ipswich, December) Age: 19. The England under-20 defender made his City debut as a late sub on the last day of last season. Has made three sub and one full appearance for Ipswich.
OMAR ELABDELLAOUI (Stromsgodset, November) Age: 19. The Norwegian midfielder, of Moroccan descent, had his season disrupted by a broken foot but is a regular for the Premier League side and has two caps for the country’s under-21 side.
MOHAMMED ABU (Stromsgodset, November) Age: 19. The tough-tackling Ghanaian midfielder joined City from Sporting Club Accra in 2010 and helped Stromsgodset win the Norwegian Cup last season. Has 34 appearances and one goal for the Scandinavian side.
JOHN GUIDETTI (Feyenoord, June 2012) Age: 19. Sweden under-21 striker topped the goalscoring charts for City for the under-18 and elite development squad sides. Also impressed on loan at Brommapojkarna and Burnley and has four goals in five games for the Dutch side.
AHMED BENALI (Rochdale, November) Age: 19. Manchester boy Benali is an England under-17 attacking midfielder. He made his Dale debut, under former Academy coach Steve Eyre, in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
RAZAK NUHU (Stromsgodset, November) Age: 20. Ghanaian defender joined City in February and was immediately loaned to the Norwegians, with whom City have an agreement.
Which of these loan players will come back to be a part of City's future? Have your say.
Comments
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Amazing is what it is. Michael Johnson is one player who showed true class early in his career. We need that boy back to his belst and back in the middle of the park for City
The most interesting article i have read on this site for sometime.
That was a great article, very informative. It is good to know where all these players are at.
Nice to see City are bringing through SOME British talent.
WOW..... That's amazing..
CTID...
A big thanks to Pete Spencer for running this article, I know it has been penned by Stuart (nice work) but in a recent webchat I asked Pete for an update on our loan players and true to his word here it is.
I look forward to another update in the New Year!!
I saw MJ recently at the Foxes King Power Stadium, and am pleased to say that he looked good in a talented Leicester side crammed with MCFC links on and off the pitch. He had a couple of outstanding flicks and passes, and one defense splitting pass of note, plus a stretched goal chance - and that, in the main, was in 45 minutes because tactics changed (Sven again!) in the second half, and he was obviously under instruction to sit back. MJ looked comfortable on the ball. My friends who watch the Foxes regularly said that it is obvious that MJ has a football 'brain' as he can pick out players and make an intelligent pass. Good news for him, and hopefully, for us as he continues his rehabilitation.
Greg Cunningham has been loaned to either Notts County or Nott'm Forest; but he isn't at 'Notts Forest' because there's no such club.
Interesting - didn't know Mancinis son was on the books.
Decent informative article and amazing to see the young talent we have.
Should have kept the reserve team.
Most of these so called future "stars" will end up in the lower leagues, like the
previous hyped academy recruits.
Boyata, Cunningham, Abdul Razak, Bunn and Wabara are the only ones I would keep, the rest can be moved on. Imagine how much money City would be saving by offloading the rest.
wheres GIA ASSULIN?
Mancini junior wasn't good enough for Bologna, so can't see any obvious footballing reason why he is at City.
Ryan wilson wasnt good enough for us,what went wrong there then?
Woodimus, Ryan (Giggs) Wilson, we allowed United to nick him and others because of our lazy youth set up. You can count on one hand the ESTABLISHED Premiership regulars that have come out of our academy system over the years mainly Lee Croft
types.
Of the young emerging talents listed above (i.e. neva mind E ABY, RSC etc) I rate Wlady Wiess & John Gudette highest: They have displayed early on both the skill and will to go all the way. Of course MJ has both, but sadly his injury's seem to be his curse, plz forbid it is so....