Manchester City Signs Barcelona Youngster Gai Assulin
Manchester City has signed the young Barcelona midfielder, Gai Assulin, on a free transfer. The youngster was helped by the former Barcelona player, Yaya Toure, who is also a part of Manchester City’s setup.
There were many clubs who wanted to sign Assulin after his contract was not renewed by Barcelona. It is also rumoured that the youngster was first offered to Arsenal, by his manager, but the manager Arsene Wenger did not pay any
heed to the request. After this incident, many clubs went after the player and Manchester City won the race in the end. He has been offered a two and a half year contract which would keep him with the club until the end of 2012-2013 Season.
Assulin also spoke to the press about the prospects of joining Manchester City. The youngster said that he had heard a lot of things about City and he did not hesitate in making his final decision. The midfielder also acknowledged
the fact that Yaya Toure helped him in making this decision as he maintained a contact with the youngster.
Manchester City currently has a lot of big names present in their midfield but Assulin would provide them with much needed pace and energy that City lacks in their team. However, the youngster does not have very strong credentials
which might make it a strange signing by Manchester City. Assulin is credited to be the youngest player to ever play for Israel as he started at the age of 16. However, he only played one match for his national side and he only came late in the second half,
playing for almost 15 minutes of the game. Apart from this, Assulin is a permanent member of Israel U21 team, but in the 14 matches the youngster has never scored a goal for his team.
Assulin did not have a great spell with Barcelona either, ever since joining the club. The youngster was offered his first senior contract in 2007, just after he turned 16, for a period of three years. After this contract, the
youngster played the league with Barcelona B and won the title. After this season, Pep Guardiola moved to the duties of the senior side and it was rumoured that he would promote some young players as well. Assulin had a great chance to impress and he starred
in his first match with the senior team against Girona FC in Copa Catalunya.
Despite being a promising player, Assulin failed to impress in his second season after being hindered by an injury which kept him out for the most part of the season. In the next season, Assulin started in most of the pre-season
matches for Barcelona and he also got his first important match in Copa Del Ray. But when Guardiola rested some of his senior players due to the long season, Assulin failed to get promotion from the B side. Towards the end of the season, it became obvious
that the player is no longer required by Guardiola as he did not get his contract renewed.
During his three seasons with Barcelona B, Assulin scored 13 goals in 67 matches, which is a great achievement for a midfielder. The skills possessed by the midfielder are raw and he has a lot of room for improvement in the future.
However, the major problem with the player is a recurring injury that keeps him out of action at frequent intervals. Due to this reason, Guardiola did not keep the player but Manchester City has decided to take their chances.
A player like Assulin does not seem well suited for English Premier League where challenges are stronger and the midfield is more physical in nature. Nevertheless, he would be an exciting player to watch because being a member
of Barcelona’s youth system guarantees skilful and exciting display of football.
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