The first few days of the January transfer window have been quiet for Leeds but it seems that Victor Orta is busy behind the scenes trying to bring in the three players Leeds are targeting for this window. Che Adams is still the prime candidate to replace Eddie Nketiah up front whilst young Chievo Verona goalkeeper Elia Caprile is heading to Leeds this weekend to tie up a deal according to Phil Hay. That just leaves the hole left by the departure of Jack Clarke, today Manchester City youngster Ian Poveda has emerged as a player who could potentially replace him. But who is Ian Poveda?
Ian Carlo Poveda-Ocampo was born in London to Columbian parents. He is eligible to play for both England and Colombia but has already represented England at youth level. Poveda made his debut for the England U16s in August 2015 and has since graduated to the U20s squad and made his debut as a substitute during their 2-2 draw away to Italy. The 19 year old has been at Manchester City since joining from Brentford in 2016. He previously spent time in the Barcelona and Arsenal youth systems. Poveda is a winger by trade and shone in the City’s U21s EFL Trophy campaign last season.
City beat league sides Crewe, Tranmere, Barnsley and Rochdale before losing at Sunderland. In his five EFL Trophy appearances for City, Poveda scored twice in their 3-3 draw at Barnsley. Poveda twice finished off wonderful team moves with fantastic curling finishes, displaying his trickery and eye for goal. He was also a key part of City's run to the UEFA Youth League semi-finals, and was included in Pep Guardiola's 2019 pre-season tour over the summer, playing twice. Poveda made his senior debut for City with a start in a 1-0 EFL Cup semi-final second leg win over Burton Albion on 23 January 2019 and was also in their Champions League squad against Atalanta.
@ManCityAcademy GOOOOOAAAAALLL!! Individual brilliance from Ian Poveda!
Over on the Blue Moon forums City fans say he has been ‘impressive at youth level’, is ‘very talented but he's got no chance of breaking through here’ and ‘needs to move on for the sake of his career’. Poveda has been training with the City first team for some time now but is struggling to break through into the first team, after all they are one of the best teams in the world packed with international stars. City fans feel a transfer to Leeds would be a good one for Poveda, ‘Looks like he's off to Leeds good move for the lad’, ‘Good luck to him if true. Think there's a good player in there and he is bound to make progress under Bielsa.’
Leeds fans may be worried this is just another signing for the U23s after Mateusz Bogusz has impressed without breaking through to the first team but Victor Orta and Marcelo Bielsa have scouted Poveda extensively and rate him highly. They believe he is ready to make step into the first team squad as Jack Clarkes replacement and could add an extra dimension to Leeds United’s promotion push. Leeds fans will be getting excited poring over YouTube skills and goals videos over the weekend and whilst even Ramón Núñez can look world class in a highlights reel this does look like to be a potentially good signing for Leeds with a view to the remainder of this season and the future.
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