Enes Unal: Man City’s loan starlet tipped to become ‘the next Ibra’
Unal is a 19-year-old centre forward whose physical structure is very similar to the ones of his illustrious predecessors. The Turkish striker joined Twente on a loan deal last summer as Guardiola wanted him to get some game time and International experience.
Looks like Unal has not struggled to settle in well in Holland having scored five goals and registered one assist in the opening four Ererdivise matches, but scoring goals is no news for Unal who netted 25 in 24 games with U-16, 17, 18 an 21 Turkey national team, making his senior debut on the 31st of March 2015 under former AC Milan boss Fatih Terim.
He also scored 182 goals in 110 games with Bursasport youth teams making his senior debut in the Super Lig aged 16. In his first official game with his childhood club, he scored the equalizer against Galatasaray registering six goals in all competitions at the end of his first senior campaign.
Bursaspor bought Bakangu (now at Villareal) in the 2014-15 campaign and Unal could only manage one goal in 31 appearances, but Manchester City still decided to sign him for € 3 million in summer 2015, stealing him from under Juventus and AC Milan’s noses.
Manuel Pellegrini wanted him to get regular game time and sent him on loan at Genk, but Unal was only able to score one goal in 12 appearances with the Belgian side. Given his poor performances, Man City sent him on loan at NAC Breda in January 2016. In Holland’s second division he managed nine goals in 11 appearances.
Guardiola has also decided to send him on loan in Holland, but opted for a first-league side instead. Scouts of Manchester City are travelling to Holland to monitor Unal performances each week-end. Unal’s main target is now to impress the Catalan boss and make his return to the Etihad in one year time to claim a spot in Man City’s squad.
Alessandro Cosattini, translated by Lorenzo Bettoni @lorebetto
