Manchester City aren’t planning any significant business in January but are always on the hunt for young talent. Pep Guardiola isn’t shy about giving opportunities to City’s highly-rated academy graduates either, so there is a pathway to the first-team for hot prospects that work hard to impress.
Nizaar Kinsella of the London Evening Standard said days ago that City had their eye on a young striker – Jude Soonsup-Bell of Chelsea. The Sky Blues reportedly ‘had talks’ over a potential deal, though Kinsella says he’s ‘more interested’ in a foreign move. But who is he?
Soonsup-Bell joined Chelsea from Swindon Town as an U13 player and has gone on to score 23 goals with two assists from 25 games for the U18s, one goal with three assists from 12 games for the U19s and five goals with two assists from 40 games for the U21s.
The 19-year-old, who’s scored for England at U15 (1 goal in 4 games), U16 (6 goals in 7 games), U18 (2 goals in 5 games) and U19 (1 goal in 2 games) level, has made one first-team appearance for Chelsea, so he looks to have a bright future.
Chelsea hope to renew his contracts beyond 2023, but it doesn’t appear that Soonsup-Bell wants to stay. Whether City sign him ahead of all the foreign interest remains to be seen too.
In other news, Shaun Goater praises ‘great’ Nathan Ake after FA Cup win
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