He's not better than anybody else we have in his position.
Young Player of Year in Scotland, a player this makes not.
Guidetti tore it up in both Holland and at Celtic park, some barometers are better than others.
The centre-half position takes years of dedication and refining, similarly to a goalkeeper.
Some of these kids need to realise they are at Manchester City, and we are doing them an enormous favour, giving them a fabulous degree of legitimacy and grounding.
Would the likes of Lopes and Denayer be demanding to be given first-team football at Real Madrid or Barcelona? No, they would think better of it, and know their place.
Why should it be any different at out club, one which is now one of the most relevant in world football?
Denayer needs to prove his credentials and learn from his mistakes in a league and a team where he will be given that breathing space.
We can't afford to do that. If he or anyone else isn't willing to be patient, then we don't need them.
That's all very well, and I agree with the sentiment but i also think its a tad too narrow an argument. I don't think any of them are expecting to walk straight into the first team, more at least given the impression that they will be used at some point. So far, and it may improve, our record for integrating is very poor and all signs seem to point to maybe, if they're lucky, them getting about a handful of games this year. If he stays can any of us really see him getting more than 4/5 appearances this year? No, not really. Pellers, as much as I love him, will clearly play whatever other senior CB that didn't play the week before in any cup games. Demi, Mangala instead of VK, Ota etc.
Kids will never, ever be better until actually given a chance to prove that. If we're expecting any of our kids to come in and be 'better' than our first team then we will never integrate a player ever. It's not possible. How can they be without the exposure they need at our very highest level...which they won't get out on loan cos they'll move to smaller clubs. It's about developing them and letting them feel like their part of the team. You can't blame Denayer for wanting to move. It's not arrogance, its common sense - he knows he needs games to carry on developing. Four small apperances wont do that. He's not wanting the world, just a chance which on balance he doesn't think he'll get. Can you blame him?
We have to send a message to some of these kids at some point that they will be involved in some way. At the moment we're doing the opposite. The demanding their place thing at Real or Barca - well, Real dont bring anyone through for the same reasons. Hence why they always spend a fortune every year, something our owners dont want to do, hence the CFA investment. They don't give them a chance so their kids leave, whereas Barca DO have a reputation for bringing players through so their kids will be patient. Ours are tentative, understandably so. They're ambitious and want first team football. They dont want zero chances.
I agree there has to be patience, but I also think its a two way street. The player has to show he's willing to wait, and the club have to show they're willing to be given a chance at some point. Youth development always is like that. We only used Pozo last year, and that was as a last resort. A proper desperate last resort, and then we threw him in out of position for three games. No others were given minutes. We left the likes of Ambrose sat on the bench while 3-0 up at home, bringing Sinclair on. One of many, many examples. I 100% agree that players need to do developing before they get involved, but the club DOES at some point need to get into a habit of using players in cups etc, giving the most promising talent the odd taste of first team football at City. Not asking for much, just 30 minutes in a cup game. It breeds confidence, acts as an incentive, and, importantly, removes all those initial nerves that plague youth players on their first team debut so when they ARE ready they settle in seamlessly. Ya never know too, one could excel and we could have ourselves a potential star, or at least a viable squad member that could save us in an emergency. As it stands we have neither, cos we simply dont know.
Denayer isn't to blame in this. If the club made it clear he'd get a chance, then went against that and immediately signed a new CB why should he trust them? I wouldn't. You can say 'well thats football', but he doesnt have to like it or agree with it. He's being proactive cos he's not stupid. He's just broke into Belgium's national team, looking absolutely excellent in the process, and his career is on a vastly upwards trajectory. He doesn't want to spend a season playing no football (he wont even be involved in the eds either), apart from maybe 4/5 niggly, irrelevant appearances. We don't need 4 centre backs ahead of him. That's just unfair.