Maffeo and Angelino loaned to Girona

Wish them both well. Hope we see them back at City.

If these are on loan then I like to think we are buying in this January transfer window.
 
Vienna_70 said:
Plus the fact that they've gone to a second tier club in Spain doesn't fill me with confidence that they're good enough for us.
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For lads around the 19-21 years of age to be playing for a team making a promotion run in that League is not half bad IMO.
We're unduly sniffy and disparaging about the Segunda Division. The style we want to play has more in common with that League than the English second tier.
 
It's a great pity but let's face it, with the defensive problems we've got, & general lack of organisation, they are unlikely to start many games.

I imagine this loan will determine whether either of them get the nod as one of our 'new' fullbacks for next season or whether we sign 4 rather than two.
 
Exeter Blue I am here said:
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
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Well said. It's also hugely unrealistic for people to think there would have been a queue of Premier League clubs waiting to take on a pair of completely untried and untested teenagers for 5 months.

Plus I'd imagine playing in Spain for a free-scoring attacking team that dominates most games is much better preparation for them than being heaped under pressure in a Premier League relegation battle while playing a style of football that bears no resemblance to the way we play.
 
Thaksinssoldier said:
That would be fair enough had Maffeo not already been there and shown vast improvement this year already.

This isn't a step forward for the lad. If we just aren't going to use him, send him to a decent team.
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So Maffeo goes on loan there and makes 'vast improvement' but sending him back there again is politically motivated? Well ok then...
 
Both Maffeo and Angelino will benefit from playing regular first team football for six months. Angelino seems some way off our first team and if he wasn't going to get off the bench in a dead rubber against Celtic, it's clear Guardiola wouldn't have any real use for him this season. Seems harsh to judge on such little evidence but I saw nothing in his two appearances this season to suggest he's ready for our first team yet. Maffeo has made more of an impression and can count himself unfortunate not to have been given a bit more of a chance at times. That said, while his performances definitely marked him out as a impressively dependable option at right-back - someone who totally wouldn't let us down if called upon, they also showed real limitations to the attacking side of his game which he needs to work on if he's to have a serious chance of making it with us. Hopefully with a solid run of games at a lower level, he'll gain the confidence to show a bit more ambition offensively. Garcia is the only one of the current crop of young fringe players that has really looked comfortable in the first team in my opinion. I'm keen for him to stay with us and see a bit more action.

I've no problem with either of them going to Girona, particularly with the ties we have with them. They know exactly what they are getting with Maffeo, and if they are taking him again, it's a good sign he'll get regular game time and he'll be in a settled environment. Girona are clearly benefiting from us buying and loaning them players so it's in their interests to keep that going by involving Maffeo and Angelino in regular matches. It can be much more of a lottery sending our kids to random Championship clubs. It feels a bit disrespectful to suggest that a team currently second in the Spanish Segunda Division is that poor a standard anyway. Besides, it would be far better to have them playing at a level where they feature regularly and do well than take the chance of them wasting yet more time on the sidelines. And if they can help Girona to promotion then that's an even better option for future loans to them.

I really can't see that we'd be letting the both of them go on loan without at least one replacement/upgrade coming in January. We must be very confident that a deal will be done for us to have let both go already. I do hope it's a left back. It doesn't look like we can replace both without cutting someone else from our squad though.
 
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