Man City wonderkid is unfortunate warning to Premier League transfer trend

It's fair to say that Kayky's arrival at Manchester City caused a lot more of a stir than his departure, confirmed last week and barely registering beyond a few wistful 'remember him' social media posts.

City spent £9million to sign the then 17-year-old from Fluminense in April 2021 and they didn't hide his arrival as they do with many teenage prospects. It was given big billing and the excitement from supporters was immediate, especially as the Brazilian attacker was being kept in-house, rather than loaned out to another City Football Group club.

His 13 appearances in Premier League 2 produced six goals and four assists and did little to dampen the excitement. He made his first-team debut in January 2022, playing four minutes at the end of a 4-1 FA Cup win at Swindon Town, and then got six minutes in the Premier League at Norwich in February.

That turned out to be that. A player compared to Neymar began to struggle with injuries and his development stalled, to the point that last week a loan move to CFG outfit Bahia was made permanent.

Maybe those fitness issues were always lingering there. Looking back now, Pep Guardiola's first comments about the teenager in October 2021, soon after his arrival from Brazil, feel telling.

"He’s just arrived. Had some knee problems. He’s training with us, getting to know us, getting to know English football," Guardiola said at the time.

"He’s very young. We know of his talent, otherwise he wouldn’t have come, or City wouldn’t have signed him.

"He’s very smart, very prepared. Fernandinho talks to him a lot, our captains take care of things a lot, that’s why Fernandinho is a jewel.

"Little by little he will be integrated, he will try to have matches for the second team, seek rhythm. And