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

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.

Despite that, 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

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