Man City to complete £6m move for highly-rated 18-year-old Serbian – A smart signing by Pep?

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Sourav Ghosh

Why Manchester City should sign Filip Stevanovic in January

According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester City are looking to complete the signing of Filip Stevanovic in the winter transfer window. The Cityzens are expected to pay around £6million, according to the report.

Profile

Filip Stevanovic is an 18-year-old Serbian forward who plays for FK Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. He started his youth career at Vranic Arilje before moving to Partizan’s youth setup in 2011. Spending the next few years progressing through the youth ranks, he was sometimes called up to the senior team.

In December 2018, he made his first-team debut when he came on as a substitute against FK Rad. Soon, he was officially promoted to the first-team. He scored his first goal in August 2019 against Connah’s Quay Nomads.

serbia u21 v poland u21 uefa under 21 qualifier
GORNJI MILANOVAC, SERBIA – OCTOBER 09: Veljko Nikolic (L) and Filip Stevanovic (R) of Serbia look on during the EURO U21 qualifying match between Serbia U21 and Poland U21 at stadium FK Metalac on October 9, 2020 in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

So far, he has made 53 appearances for the club while scoring 12 goals and 5 assists (source – Transfermarkt). Currently a part of the Serbia U-21 side, he has been a regular in the youth teams.

Is it a good move?

This move can only be seen in one angle. Signing such a relatively young player when you have such a star-studded squad means that he is one for the future.

With so many wingers already at City (they also added Ferran Torres to their ranks this summer), Stevanovic is unlikely to be a starter anytime soon. A loan deal or two will do him a world of good, especially at an age where he needs to play on a regular basis.

partizan belgrade v manchester united group l uefa europa league
BELGRADE, SERBIA – OCTOBER 24: Andreas Pereira (L) of Manchester United in action against Filip Stevanovic (R) of Partizan during the UEFA Europa League group L match between Partizan and Manchester United at Partizan Stadium on October 24, 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

Verdict

City will be getting a very good player who is just starting to show his potential. He is already scoring and assisting with relative ease, so one can only imaging what he will be able to do if he keeps on this upward trajectory. The only problem is that he cannot be thrust into the limelight just yet.

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He needs to grow and grow away from the blazing lights at Man City. Yes, Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers to nurture youngsters but the fact remains that there is too much competition for places at City. They should complete the signing and send him out on loan to a lower-tier club where he can adjust to the changes and keep developing.