Source: Man_City
City blood another 'Adebayor'
BLUES PROSPECT: Alex NimleyIt is no wonder Burnley were confused by the end of their 6-1 thrashing by City on Saturday - they ended up having to cope with two 'Adebayors.' The £25m striker Emmanuel netted twice as the Blues ran riot in a stunning first-half, but then manager Roberto Mancini sneaked a second 'Adebayor' onto the pitch in the shape of 18-year-old Alex Nimely-Tchuimeni. The academy product, nicknamed 'Adebayor' during his formative years in his native Liberia, made his professional debut as a replacement for Carlos Tevez in the last seven minutes at Turf Moor. They were not the easiest conditions in which to try to make an impression with much of the pitch under water. But Nimely's brief cameo was another reminder from Mancini of the value which both he and owner Sheikh Mansour place on the production of talent. It also had a few of the less dedicated Blues fans reaching for the reference books to find out who the new boy was. And they found an 18-year-old who has already crammed a world of experience into his tender years. Born in Monrovia, Nimely soon hooked up with the country's leading club Mighty Barolle, which also produced ex-City man George Weah, still the only African to have been named FIFA World Player of the Year. The precocious talent was snapped up by Cameroonian champions Cotonsport Garoua in October 2006, and turned out for them in the African Champions League as a 15-year-old - scoring on his debut. But his ambitions lay in the Premier League, and he was invited to Platt Lane for a trial in December 2007. It did not take long for the Academy coaches to realise they had a real talent on their hands, and within a month he had signed a four-year deal with the Blues. Nimely goal tally In 2008 he was called up by the Liberia national team for their World Cup qualifiers but turned the offer down, declaring that he wanted to play for England, for whom he qualifies through his English father Davy Tchuimeni. In his first full season, he scored 24 goals in the City junior ranks, including the only goal as the young Blues lost the first leg of their FA Youth Cup semi-final at Arsenal. He suffered knee ligament damage in the second leg but bounced back to play for England under-20s in the World Championships last year - one of five City players in a 21-man squad. He scored the only England goal, against Uzebkistan, as they went out at the group stages. But he has kept his scoring streak going, with nine goals in 16 appearances for the reserves so far this season. His pace and eye for goal alerted Mancini, who drafted him into the squad for the trip to Burnley. And when he replaced Tevez, he became the 31st youngster to graduate from City's Academy since it opened under the discerning eye of Jim Cassell in 1997. And Mancini, in less than four months as manager, has blooded four of them - Nimely, Dedryck Boyata, Abdi Ibrahim and Greg Cunningham. One of the perceived problems with Mark Hughes' reign was that there was little discourse between the first-team set-up and Platt Lane. Mancini made a statement on his first-team sheet, by naming Vlad Weiss, Javan Vidal and Boyata on the bench, although all three remained there in the 2-0 home win over Stoke. And he has vowed to keep giving a chance to the young talent coming through the ranks, even as the Blues gear up for a couple of major signings in the summer. "I am a manager who puts a lot of faith in bringing players through the Academy system and who has been pleased to give several City players their chance to play in the first team," said the Italian. Cassell is now in Abu Dhabi as part of the club's plan to roll out their Academy success at selected venues throughout the world, a project which he is heading. "I like to think that I have left a great legacy of youth development at Platt Lane that can hopefully be built on even further in the future," he said. "It's a really exciting time for the young people that we already have here and it's a great place to come for all those that we hope to bring in the future. You would expect me to be biased but I believe the younger generation holds the key to the future of our football club." Do you think Nimely can make it to the top - and are you happy with City's youth development? Have your say.| Submit Comments| Comments (51)| PrintWhat's this? Emaildel.icio.usDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponNewsvineGoogle BookmarksNetscapeTechnoratiWindows LiveYahoo! MyWebMa.gnolia
