“When Man City come calling, you can’t turn them down” – Rising forward reveals decision to make Etihad Stadium switch

Manchester City and Scotland youth international forward Adedire Mebude has revealed all when it comes to his switch from Rangers in 2020.

The 18 year-old has been in fine form for the club’s academy system across age groups so far this season, sparking a particularly impressive partnership with fellow forward Carlos Borges for the club’s Elite Development Squad.

While Adedire Mebude is yet to register a single senior appearance for Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad, his performances in the Premier League 2, UEFA Youth League, and EFL Trophy so far this season have earned him a promotion in Scotland’s international youth set-up.

Mebude was selected for Scotland’s under-21s this week for their round of international fixtures, making his debut for the age group on Thursday night against Sweden’s under-21s in a friendly match at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, Spain.

Just nine minutes into that debut, and Mebude marked the occasion with a sublime solo goal, receiving the ball from Manchester City’s on-loan midfielder Lewis Fiorini, before weaving between defenders and smashing a low, driven effort past goalkeeper Noel Tornqvist.

Speaking on the subject of some of his attacking heroes – all of whom have had stellar careers at Manchester City – Adedire Mebude revealed conversations with one such name during their time together at the City Football Academy training centre.

“I really liked Raheem Sterling. He was my man. I wanted to learn from him, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez,” explained Mebude. “I’ve trained with the first team a few times. They are out of this world. It’s surreal training with them and it’s great to be involved.

“I spoke to Sterling when he was there and he gave me a few tips. He was a young boy coming through at one time too, but excelled a bit quicker than me. He’s been through it all. He’d show me parts of his game he needed to improve and where he thought I could get better.

Mebude continued, “It was really good to have that. My development is going well so far. I’m getting regular game time with the Under-21s. It’s always good to beat United 6-0, too. I got four assists and it was a very good game.

“The hierarchy come and watch, and it’s always good to perform in front of them and show what you’re about. There definitely is a pressure with that game. There’s that big rivalry even at that level and everyone wants to win.”

While Mebude has trained with the Manchester City first-team set-up regularly this season, he also went on to admit he has not had one-to-one discussions with the head coach, “I’ve not had any dealings with Pep Guardiola yet, but it would be great if I did soon.”

Adedire Mebude rejected the offer of a contract at Rangers at the age of 16, before joining Manchester City’s academy in September 2020, before going on to sign his first professional contract with the Premier League champions in July 2021.

On the subject of leaving Rangers, and while Mebude admits it was a difficult decision for him, the possibility of joining Manchester City was one that he could simply not turn down.

“It was a big decision to move. I was a bit young, only 16. Everything at Rangers was really good and I loved it there,” said Mebude.

“But when Man City come calling you can’t turn them down. It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped after moving, though. I had Covid and it was a challenging part of my life. I was living on my own in digs and it slowed things down a bit. But it was all part of the learning process.”

Those initial struggles are now firmly behind him, having so far registered a total of 28 appearances across all competitions for Manchester City’s academy this season, scoring 13 goals and adding to that tally with a further 14 assists – providing a goal contribution every 83 minutes on average this season.