Forbs showed potential for profit among young hopefuls

HE might never have cracked the first team at Manchester City, but Carlos Forbs is still considered something of an example around the academy.

- By TYRONE MARSHALL

The Portuguese winger trained with the seniors under Pep Guardiola, but despite a stunning 2022/23 season for the Under-21s, he never even made a matchday squad for the Blues.

Still, his performances in front of sparse crowds at age-group level did enough to attract an army of talent spotters. During the summer window of 2023, he was the subject of a transfer tug-of-war between West Ham and Ajax, one that ended with the Amsterdam side paying £17.3million to sign him.

That was a huge fee for a player without a first-team game for his name, but for Ben Wilkinson, now in charge of the Under-21s at City, it was proof that even performances at that level could attract attention.

"Carlos had one year where he was electric in the Under-21s and at the end of the season there was a massive transfer fee to Ajax," he told the MEN last year.

"That is a massive carrot to the players. They know that if they can get it right with our games programme, the world is watching them.

"Everyone's recruitment stretches far and wide now and you see in the market the amount of transfer for younger players is growing year on year."