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Manchester City acquire another young talent

By Stephen Little

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 11: Marlos Moreno of Colombia celebrates after scoring the second goal of his team during a group A match between Colombia and Costa Rica at NRG Stadium as part of Copa America Centenario US 2016 on June 11, 2016 in Houston, Texas, US. (Photo by Omar Vega/LatinContent/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 11: Marlos Moreno of Colombia celebrates after scoring the second goal of his team during a group A match between Colombia and Costa Rica at NRG Stadium as part of Copa America Centenario US 2016 on June 11, 2016 in Houston, Texas, US. (Photo by Omar Vega/LatinContent/Getty Images) /
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New Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s penchant for young superstars in the making continues with the acquisition of Marlos Moreno from Atletico Nacional.

Workplace discrimination me be banned in today’s society, but clearly football didn’t get the memo. Just the other day I put in an application to play for Manchester City and got back a jovial letter explaining I was too old, lacking in talent in football and clearly not intelligent enough for the role. Perhaps I should have sent it in to Liverpool first.

The truth is that City manager Pep Guardiola is probably one of the game’s leading proponents of young and controlled talent. Eyebrows were raised when one of his first key signings for the Blues this year was 29 year old Nolito, but, since then he has been linked to several super-stars in the making.

First in through the door was Oleksandr Zinchenko, a 19 year old Ukrainian international who starred in the Euros, indeed the youngest to be capped for the team at a professional tournament. Zinchenko had received offers from a number of clubs, including reportedly several years of interest from Arsenal, but turned it down for the opportunity to grow under arguably the best coach in the sport.

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Zinchenko, it seems, was not to be the only one. Several reports have strongly linked City to the acquisition of Schalke’s Leroy Sane (20), Palmeiras’ Gabriel Jesus (19), Everton’s John Stones (22) and one more, Marlos Moreno, 19 of Atletico Nacional. While the former are close to through the door, but not quite, it seems now Moreno has fully committed himself to Manchester City. His agent had the following to say, as quoted by ESPN:

"“I will travel with him on Saturday to sign a contract with Manchester City and he will go on loan to Deportivo La Coruna for a year,” Tamayo said of Moreno’s future.“The main architect of all this is Marlos, with his discipline and commitment. I just contributed a bit,”"

That Moreno seems aware of the fact he will likely be loaned out right off the bat is a positive, given despite this he seems willing to pick Manchester City regardless. Moreno, like fellow Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, is one of the brightest talents in all of South America and was being chased by several other clubs, ultimately choosing to be a part of an increasingly youthful and forward planning City side.

Pep has made no bones about his intentions at the Etihad, stating on many occasions he intends to build a squad for the long haul. While other clubs, United being the most notable, seem set on “win now” mode, City appear happy to sit back and allow the Guardiola affect to progressively build them into a well-oiled winning machine.

Moreno would be as important a part of this as any. He plays as a natural forward, but has the pace and skillset to play from anywhere from midfield to the wings. A very “Pep” player, if you will, just like Sane, Jesus and Zinchenko. That’s not even including the young up-and-coming players in City’s Elite Development Squad academy, many of whom seem to have caught the manager’s eye during a truncated pre-season training. A classic case of the rich getting richer.

Next: Aubameyang Not Limiting Himself to Real Madrid

Citizens may have to wait a season or more before they see Moreno in a sky blue shirt, and perhaps many of the other talent on its way too, but Guardiola seems convinced he’ll be worth the wait and who would complain about ageism then?

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