samharris said:
The rags average age this season will be 14...:)
And everyone of them is world class and twice as good as anything City have
Joking apart i think this lad is going to be a fantastic player in the next few years..... <a class="postlink" href="http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1312704_mancini_has_high_hopes_for_boyata?rss=yes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... ta?rss=yes</a>
Mike Whalley
July 31, 2010
Dedryck Boyata’s terrific 2010 may contain more memorable moments if Roberto Mancini has anything to do with it.
The 19-year-old centre-back kicked off the year with a first-team debut, followed it up by winning City’s Young Player of the Year award and has played a significant part on the club’s tour of the United States.
While Boyata is not one to make bold predictions about what the future holds, Mancini sees him as a key squad player for the coming season.
And with new Premier League squad rules allowing an unlimited number of Under-21 players to be registered in addition to 25 senior pros, Boyata and his fellow youngsters can expect to be involved in the Blues’ pursuit of glory.
To prove the point, Mancini took several members of his Under-21 Elite Squad – effectively a reconstituted reserve team with the emphasis on youth development – out to the US.
The idea was to give them experience of being away with the first team, so that they can be ready to step up as injuries and suspensions bite into Mancini’s squad during what is set to be a demanding season.
Andrew Tutte, Scott Kay, John Guidetti, Kieran Tripper, Jeremy Helan and Ben Mee have all seen match action during the tour, and all feel they have benefited.
“The intensity they experienced day to day is so much more compared to training with the reserves,” said Andy Welsh, the club’s elite development manager. “They coped really well and they all got some time on the pitch.”
In addition, youngsters who already had City first-team experience under their belts, such as Boyata, Greg Cunningham, Abdi Ibrahim and Alex Nimely, have taken the chance to add a little more.
Most of the youngsters have flown home to play a part in a friendly at Barrow this afternoon, with the senior players taking up the slack ahead of tonight match against Inter Milan in Baltimore.
But Boyata has stayed out in the States – along with Mee and Cunningham – and feels that he has benefited from being part of the tour, on which he has played in all four matches so far.
“I’m not going to say big things about what I’m going to do this year,” he said.
“The manager is the one who chooses the team, so I’ll just keep training, keep working hard and hope that he picks me.”
Mancini had no qualms about throwing the defender into both legs of the Carling Cup semi-final against neighbours United last season.
When the Italian arrived at Eastlands last December, he was so impressed with Boyata that he told the teenager to cancel a Christmas trip home to Belgium to be part of the squad for the Boxing Day clash with Stoke.
“If he keeps improving over the next couple of years, Boyata is going to be a fantastic player,” Mancini said.
And Boyata is hoping he gets a chance or two to prove his manager right over the coming months.
The defender said: “I am looking forward to the new season. Being part of this squad with all these great players is fantastic and is helping me improve all the time.”