Maffeo and Angelino loaned to Girona

[gazzaa2]

Pep obviously doesn't think they're ready but we probably want to help Girona up to the top flight. if they get there then these two and others will probably get a full season in La Liga.

 

[Akiva]

. His age is irrelevant. If hes good enough( amd on the evidence so far he is) then he's old enough.

You said if he doesn't make the cut now he never will, but at 19 he's far away from reaching his peak as a player.

As for evidence that he's good enough, well, that's subjective and clearly your uninformed opinion differs from that of City.

 

[kevin horlocks wand]

Our strength in depth of our squad means they have to go out on loan....

Oh wait...

 

[RandomJ]

So Maffeo plays great in pre season and then plays a blinder against the rags, having both Pogba and Rashford (both twice his size) in his pocket the entire game and his reward was to be dropped and eventually loaned out. Didn't even make the bench when Sagna was injured. There is no way to spin that in a good light. Nacho barely gets a game when our main striker is suspended. Not a great message to any young players we have.

 

[Harvster]

M-M-M-Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Girona.

You certainly seem to have the knack, TFC

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

. His age is irrelevant. If hes good enough( amd on the evidence so far he is) then he's old enough.

Really? The kid has played 1 full game in the Capital One Cup and 60 minutes of a dead Champions League rubber against Championship quality opposition in the form of Celtic, and you think that constitutes evidence that he's good enough for a regular or semi-regular first team berth? I'm not knocking Maffeo, but if we're going to decide someone is good enough (and he unquestionably played well at the Swamp in an out and out defensive role, but looked distinctly ordinary and one paced in a more advanced position against Celtic) on the basis of 1 full game at senior level then Michael Frontzek would be the best left back we've ever had. Whatever, the boy is 19 and if a loan to Girona helps him develop further then that's good news for us as far as I'm concerned.

As a separate issue, people have hugely unrealistic expectations of City's Youth Academy IMO. Yes, it's better than what's in place at most other clubs, but the reality is that we are an elite level outfit, unquestionably one of the 10 best in world football, and for youngsters to make the leap into our 1st XI (as opposed to say Southampton or Everton's) they will have to be not just good but absolutely exceptional. By getting our youth teams to all play the same way the hope is probably that we can bring in a number of players to fill particular roles in extremis - squad players if you like, capable of fitting in as seamlessly as possible when injuries to those above them dictate - and make a bob or two from flogging others off. Unearthing a superstar will be a very very rare occurence, and of the current crop of 19 year olds, I'd say only Alex Garcia has truly convinced me he has the strength, ability and temperament to do a regular first team covering job at this moment in time. Some of the U17's - ie. Diaz, Foden and Sancho - offer greater promise IMO, but either way just because someone looks half way useful in their Capital One Cup debut it does not automatically mean they are ready for the 1st team. I suspect Pep knows what he's doing

 

[OB1]

Really? The kid has played 1 full game in the Capital One Cup and 60 minutes of a dead Champions League rubber against Championship quality opposition in the form of Celtic, and you think that constitutes evidence that he's good enough for a regular or semi-regular first team berth? I'm not knocking Maffeo, but if we're going to decide someone is good enough (and he unquestionably played well at the Swamp in an out and out defensive role, but looked distinctly ordinary and one paced in a more advanced position against Celtic) on the basis of 1 full game at senior level then Michael Frontzek would be the best left back we've ever had. Whatever, the boy is 19 and if a loan to Girona helps him develop further then that's good news for us as far as I'm concerned.

As a separate issue, people have hugely unrealistic expectations of City's Youth Academy IMO. Yes, it's better than what's in place at most other clubs, but the reality is that we are an elite level outfit, unquestionably one of the 10 best in world football, and for youngsters to make the leap into our 1st XI (as opposed to say Southampton or Everton's) they will have to be not just good but absolutely exceptional. By getting our youth teams to all play the same way the hope is probably that we can bring in a number of players to fill particular roles in extremis - squad players if you like, capable of fitting in as seamlessly as possible when injuries to those above them dictate - and make a bob or two from flogging others off. Unearthing a superstar will be a very very rare occurence, and of the current crop of 19 year olds, I'd say only Alex Garcia has truly convinced me he has the strength, ability and temperament to do a regular first team covering job at this moment in time. Some of the U17's - ie. Diaz, Foden and Sancho - offer greater promise IMO, but either way just because someone looks half way useful in their Capital One Cup debut it does not automatically mean they are ready for the 1st team. I suspect Pep knows what he's doing

Totally agree.

 

[cibaman]

Neither has played that many games this season so far. Neither is likely to play more than the odd game for City's first team for the rest of the season. They probably both need the chance to play a run of 10-15 games before the end of the season.

 

[TFC]

@Harvster XD

 

[bobom]

They're not about to make the first team regularly this season. Pep has had half a season to work with them and is probably sending both off with a long list of things to work on. Someone he trusts - his brother - can keep an eye on their progress. Next season the backline will have a major overhaul and they'll have a chance in pre season to show they're good enough to be 2nd choice in their positions.
How is this not better than warming the bench here or practising lumping the ball forward in the championship?
But flap flap flap flap flap flap flap.