Manchester City academy defender Stephen Mfuni is playing two age groups higher than his own and has already made a first team appearance under Pep Guardiola - at just 16 years old.
So it was significant in the summer, even in a pre-season friendly, that Guardiola gave the nod to 16-year-old Stephen Mfuni in the closing stages of City's win over Chelsea in the 100,000-seater Ohio Stadium, Columbus.
Wigan-born Mfuni, who turns 17 next month, continued his fine form with a goal in the FA Youth Cup win over Millwall on Thursday night. It follows his goal in May's final in the same competition as City beat Leeds, and he also netted in the Premier League Cup final defeat to Manchester United. "Working with Pep? He opened my mind, he sees things I didn't see before," Mfuni tells the Manchester Evening News after another Youth Cup goal. "Even driving forward, I wasn't doing it much last season. But now I'm doing it and getting goals.
Instagram "I model myself on Josko, a bit of Van Dijk defensively, but mostly Josko," Mfuni explains. "He can play left-back, centre-back. And a bit of John Stones because he's good on the ball as well. "I was a bit scared with the amount of fans, but as soon as I got on the pitch and got on the ball, I was used to it.Fearless, indeed.
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