The window to succeed at a club like Manchester City is only barely ever open. Those who wish to find success at such a demanding club almost always have to bide their time as the perfect opportunity comes into play. However, it is then equally important for any Manchester City player to grab that opportunity with both hands.
The same case applies to aspiring academy talents from the youth academy of the club. Despite possessing a great amount of talent and quality, showcasing those traits when duty calls is exactly what separates the players who have that special something from those who do not.
As such, if Jadel Katongo’s recent words are to be believed, the 19-year-old English defender seems to think he does have that special something.
Pointed out by the official Manchester City website, Katongo recently spoke about the opportunity to go on the pre-season tour to the United States of America with the first team:
“I think it will be another great experience just to be around an even bigger first-team and see how they manage things both on and off the pitch as well… Hopefully I can achieve more growth as a player.”
Speaking about Pep Guardiola, the current head coach at Manchester City and a record-breaker through and through, Kotongo only had positive words to share:
“Obviously Pep’s the best manager in the world and hopefully he can teach me a thing or two, the same with the players as well.”
Sent on loan to Peterborough United last season to get some crucial game time, the young defender, labeled as outstanding by Darren Ferguson, son of Sir Alex Ferguson, now finally returns to the club where he has been working and learning since his days in the Under-9 teams.
Sent on loan to Peterborough United last season by Manchester City for crucial game time, the young defender now returns to the club where he has been working and learning since his Under-9 days.
His goal now is to debut with the first team on this tour, one that includes matches against the likes of Celtic, AC Milan, FC Barcelona, and Chelsea:
“And if I could make my debut it would be great. It would mean a lot because I’ve been at City quite a while so it would be good for me.”
One of the opponents that he particularly seems excited to play against would appear to be Barcelona. The Catalan giants, primarily for the philosophy with which they play the game, are a club that Kotongo would love for Manchester City to go up against:
“It will also be great to see how a side like Barcelona play, like how it’s different from City. Because I know City and Barcelona play similar football, so I’d like to see what they do differently.”
With a grueling season coming up ahead, a lot of hopeful youngsters have traveled with the first team to the United States this summer. However, only the selected few will likely have a chance to remain in that selection following the conclusion of the tour, and Jadel Jadel Katongo hopes to be among them.
