Rising City star Jack Byrne has a neat sense of timing – in more ways than one.
The 17-year-old Irish starlet’s manager Patrick Vieira questioned comparisons between his midfield general and United legend Paul Scholes because Byrne does not pop up in the box and score goals.
Three days later, Byrne popped up in the box and scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over Arsenal!
The Dubliner is just as precise in the manner of his play and has been the Blues' outstanding player – alongside Marcos Lopes – in a UEFA Youth League campaign which continues against CSKA Moscow at Hyde next Tuesday (3pm).
It was former City star Niall Quinn who compared Byrne to Scholes, after watching him mastermind the Blues’ win at Viktoria Plzen in the first-ever match in the new tournament, which shadows the senior sides’ Champions League games.
That was great news for Byrne, who admits he models his game on ex-England man Scholes, and counts Quinn as a hero from his time with the Republic of Ireland.
The immaculate passing, ability to find space and time in the hurly-burly of midfield and quickness of thought – as well as small stature – are all reminiscent of Scholes, but Vieira feels the teenager will develop into his own player.
Byrne looked excellent on a hard, bumpy pitch in Moscow, and Vieira said: “It was another very good performance from Jack. In all three games in the UEFA Youth League, he has been fantastic.
“What I like about Jack is his personality. He doesn’t get scared at all, he just plays his football and some of his passing in Moscow was excellent.
“He can be different to Scholes, who was more about getting in the box – he scores more goals than Jack, so I think Jack will be a different type of player. But they are both great on the ball.
“Jack is really young and not afraid – he really wants to play. He has taken the responsibility, and is a strong boy.
“Physically he is not impressive at all, but his technique and first touch are excellent and he always likes to play forwards.
“Now he needs to keep playing, keep working hard and like all the lads at this club he needs to take the opportunity that presents itself. If he keeps working hard, the chance will come for him to challenge himself at a different level.”
Byrne’s old coach at St Kevin’s in Ireland, Alan Caffrey, felt that Byrne’s style would have suited Barcelona, but the Ireland Under-19 player chose City after he was pursued by several English clubs.
The youngster has already trained with the first team, and admitted that his deft, quick-thinking style is down to his slight stature.
“I try to stay one step ahead, in your head, know where the next pass is going,” he said.
“The worst thing you can do is take a first touch when your head is down, when you don’t know what to do and are flapping around with the ball – you are going to get clattered.
“I’m not the biggest so I have to be clever. I can’t take two or three touches and get into a physical battle. For me it’s one-touch, two-touch, keep the ball moving.”
