According to a report from The Sun, Carlos Borges, the 19-year-old winger from Manchester City, is now nearing a £17 million move to Ajax. While Nottingham Forest showed interest in the player, their Premier League rivals, West Ham, were also actively pursuing the teenager.
Who Is The Manchester City Youngster?
Carlos Roberto Forbs Borges is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ajax Amsterdam. He was born in Sintra, Portugal, on March 19, 2004. He joined the Manchester City Academy in 2014 and progressed through all youth categories, becoming a regular provider of goals and assists with the under-18 and under-23 teams. He was named under-18 player of the season for Manchester City in May 2021. By the end of 2021, he made his Youth League debut, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 away pool win against RB Leipzig.
Borges, a speedy and skilful winger, possesses a keen eye for goal. Alongside his adept dribbling and passing abilities, he is still in the process of maturing and developing. However, his potential suggests he could become a top-tier player. As a promising young talent, Borges holds a bright future ahead of him. His aspirations include making a significant impact at Ajax and eventually earning a spot in the Portuguese national team.
The Eridivise club have reached a verbal agreement with City for Borges, with a fee of £17 million. It’s worth noting that Borges has yet to make a senior football appearance in his career, except for three games in the EFL Trophy for City’s under-21s.
How Have Manchester City Transformed Their Transfer Business?
For quite some time, Man City have established themselves as one of the most successful clubs globally in nurturing young talents. In recent years, they have taken their transfer approach to new heights by incorporating buyback and sell-on clauses in the deals for their academy prospects.
This strategy offers two significant advantages. Firstly, it enables City to recover some investments in developing young players, even if they don’t eventually make it into the first team. Secondly, it allows City to re-acquire players who have developed into top talents.
By employing buyback and sell-on clauses, clubs can safeguard their interests when selling young players. It allows them to recoup part of their development expenditure while keeping open the possibility of bringing back players who have blossomed into exceptional talents. The Etihad Club has found great success with this strategy, and it has now become a trend that other clubs are adopting as well.
