Man City boss Pep Guardiola gives a thumbs up to one of his players. (Getty Images)
Manchester City probably have the best squad in the whole of England. Well, if you win the Premier League and get to 100 points, one can’t argue with that statement. But the secret behind maintaining a title-winning squad is to keep the current players on their toes with new signings every season.
For the first-team, City have just made one signing in the form of Riyad Mahrez, but behind all the limelight, the club have been active in luring youth players in recent months. One starlet who recently signed for City is young goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. According to Sky Sports, Bazunu was signed from Shamrock Rovers by City for a price of £420,000, a record fee for a non-professional player in Ireland.
Bazunu is a 16-year-old goalkeeper who used to play on Shamrock Rovers’ first-team in the Irish League. He progressed through the youth system of the club and was subject to interest from both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the past (h/t Sky Sports).
Despite being just 16, he has made a remarkable start to his senior professional career this season, making his debut for Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division and the Europa League qualifiers. In that time, he kept four consecutive clean sheets.
An official joining date has not yet been set as Bazunu wants to complete his leaving certificate in the Irish education system, in conjunction with playing at City (h/t Sky Sports). He will stay at the Irish club in the meantime and move to the blue side of Manchester either in January or in time for the next season.
He turns 17 in February and that’s when he will sign his first professional deal. Bazunu represents a significant investment by the academy. He is an Irish youth international and already stands at more than six feet in height.
Over the years, City have cultivated homegrown players as their third-choice goalkeeper. A prime example of that would be Angus Gunn, who was sold to Southampton in the summer.
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Claudio Bravo recently succumbed to an injury which will keep him out of the game for a large part of the season, forcing City to have just Arijanet Muric, 19, as the No.2 for Ederson. But now with young Bazunu on City’s books, he could be an excellent third-choice goalkeeper at the club.
