Brandon Barker is just one of the many current Manchester City youth team players who are looking to make the transition into professional football. It is becoming increasingly difficult for youth team players nowadays to break into the first team, due to the amount of money being pumped into the game, and foreign players being brought into clubs.
The England youth international played 25 games last season in the under-21 Premier League and the UEFA Youth Cup and managed an impressive 10 goals and 8 assists from the left wing position. His UEFA Youth Cup record was outstanding, with 4 goals and 4 assists in just 7 appearances, whilst playing against the best of the best when it comes to youth team sides.
The pacey, skilful winger has always impressed me when I have seen him play. His dribbling is smooth and the ball almost sticks to his foot; he has the pace to match it and, what you want with every winger, end product. Not only does he do well to get into the positions to shoot and cross the ball, he actually finds a good end product. Whenever I have seen him, his crossing and finishing have looked accurate and impressive, a trait that does not come with a lot of wingers, and to find an English winger with these abilities makes him a commodity.
Manchester City are likely going to look to send him out on loan to either the Championship, or a low/mid-table Premier League side. I am a Norwich fan and I would love to see Barker be brought in by us on loan, as we lack pace going forward and could really use someone like him. If you look at the other big sides in England, like Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, they have players in their first team that have benefited from Championship/Premier League loans. One prime example would be Jordon Ibe. The Liverpool winger spent time on loan at Derby County in the Championship and has now started to make himself a first team regular at Anfield.
The question is then, can Barker do the same? It is looking less and less likely for him to break through currently with the amount of talented forwards Man City currently have at their disposal, and even moreso when you see their reported interest in Wolfsburg attacker, Kevin De Bruyne. In my opinion, Brandon Barker will go on and make it in professional football, whether that be at Manchester City or another Premier League side in the top 8. He could still yet make it for Manchester City, provided he is given the chance to shine.
