Manchester City are steadily churning out top academy talents who want to start their careers in the professional game. This often leads to departures in the summer for other clubs as they do not see a future at the Etihad Stadium. One highly-rated forward, in particular, has departed the academy, but not he’s not joined the club he was expected to sign with. Carlos Borges has completed a permanent move to Dutch giants AFC Ajax who have officially announced his arrival.
Borges move to the Netherlands goes after Ajax performed a late hijack on West Ham United. As The Top Flight had covered, Carlos Borges looked set to join West Ham with a deal in the final stages. On June 30th, reports surfaced that Ajax had taken over the pole position to land Borges after West Ham failed to close out a deal. Suffice it to say; it has not been a good transfer window for the Hammers.
Manchester City will receive £12m upfront with around £4m in potential add-ons. City also has a buyback clause for Borges and a twenty percent sell-on percentage. Ajax state that Borges will play under the name “Forbs’.
Forbs the Future ❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/ViSRi90Ttb
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) August 3, 2023
With Ajax well renowned for developing young talent, Borges will be one to watch this season in the Eredivisie. He recorded 37 goal contributions in 33 matches across all companies last season within Manchester City’s academy. He is a Portuguese youth international and moved from Sporting’s academy in 2015 to the city of Manchester. Borges was also named the 22/23 Premier League 2 Player of the Season and was crowned a Premier League 2 champion with City this past season.
Carlos will compete with former Tottenham forward Steven Bergwijn for minutes on the left flank with Ajax. Manchester City fans will be hoping for the youngster to live up to the hype, in hopes they will repurchase him in a few years’ time.