Brahim Diaz: Magic at the Galway Cup, Maturing at Man City

At this point we are aware that of some of the higher profile payers who have gone on to bigger and better things. We all know that transitioning from being a gifted teenager to being a professional player.

Conor Wickham (Sunderland), Greg Cunningham (Preston North End) and Ryan Manning (Queens Park Rangers) are all past players of the Macron Cup in Galway.

Ireland's Kevin Toner is making his way at Aston Villa, while England under-17 international Andre Dozzell of Ipswich played in the Galway two years ago.

Earlier this year, Dozzell scored on first team debut, aged 16, emulating his dad Jason who also scored on his debut aged 16 – so some fairy tales do come true.

However there is possibly a bigger story brewing.

In 2012 Malaga FC came to the Galway Cup and in their midfield they had a diminutive player with a magic touch who wowed the crowd with very touch. His name was Brahim Adbelkader Diaz.

His Malaga side beat Manchester City 4-1 in a plate final and you can see from the photograph (Diaz is circled) that sizewise his team mates were head and shoulders over him – but footballwise the opposite was the case.

He subsequently signed for Manchester Cup. Roll the clock forward to 2016 and These Football Times carried a feature on Manchester City Academy and the arrival of Pep Guardiola by Jordan Luke Donald, and Brahim Diaz was mentioned.

Since his memorable appearance at the Galway Cup, Diaz has gone on to play in an FA Youth Cup final and gain international recognition for Spain at U17 level.

Those of us who enthused over his talent at the Galway Cup four years ago are looking forward to his next step up the ladder. His goal against Chelsea for under-18s was reminiscent of George Best.

This year, you be the scout at the Galway Cup - pick one for the future!