‘Wanted to’ – Fabrizio Romano provides update on rising Man City star amid Sheffield Wednesday ‘interest’
‘Wanted to’ – Fabrizio Romano provides update on rising Man City star amid Sheffield Wednesday ‘interest’
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is expecting further first team opportunities this season.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has continued to back academy graduate Jahmai Simpson-Pusey after turning down several loan offers for the young defender in January.
Simpson-Pusey made his professional debut for the champions on 30 October 2024 by appearing as a second half substitute in the final 16 minutes of the team’s 2–1 loss in the EFL Cup away at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 19-year-old remained in and around the first team for the weeks that followed and was handed his first professional start during a 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP, in a game which marked Ruben Amorim’s final European match in the Portuguese capital before moving onto pastures new with Manchester United.
Overall, Simpson-Pusey has made six senior appearances for the Sky Blues, with his most recent coming in an 8-0 FA Cup victory over Salford City. However, in recent weeks he has found first team minutes harder to come by after the winter additions of Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov along with the return of John Stones from injury.
Manchester City reject loan offers for Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is only in the early stages of his professional career, but his track record at youth level suggests he is a player with a high ceiling in the professional game.
His defensive awareness, strength and organisation skills have caught the attention of Championship play-off hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday, Spanish second division side Real Zaragoza and La Liga top six hopefuls Rayo Vallecano, who all made loan moves for the defender in January.
However, Fabrizio Romano understands that Pep Guardiola values Simpson-Pusey highly and wants to keep him around the City squad to harness his potential until at least the remainder of the season.
He posted on X: “Real Zaragoza, Rayo Vallecano and Sheffield Wednesday have all made an approach to Manchester City to sign Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on loan in January. No green light from the club as City wanted to keep him.”
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s career so far
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey joined Manchester City’s academy when he was just eight years old after having trials with a whole host of top Premier League clubs.
The powerful defender progressed rapidly through the club’s youth system and captained the City U18 side in 2023/2024, winning the FA Youth Cup in the process alongside the likes of Jaden Heskey (son of ex-Liverpool star Emile) and talented winger Justin Oboavwoduo.
“Being at City and people knowing you were part of the team that won the Youth Cup, it is a big thing to say,” Simpson-Pusey told Manchester Evening News.
In an exclusive interview, Simpson-Pusey also told Manchester World earlier in the season that he had been considered for a loan move over the summer before proving his worth by impressing Guardiola in training.
He explained: “I feel like because I’m training over there and being around the best and having the best manager in the world coach you, this [staying] was the best thing to do.Going out will give you experience, but not the experience you would get from staying here.”
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