Borussia Monchengladbach defender Luca Netz has admitted he turned down the chance to join Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions Manchester City and, speaking to BILD, says he would make the same decision again.
When you consider that the likes of Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz felt the need to leave City’s space-age Etihad Campus in search of regular first-team football elsewhere, you can see why Netz would have had some reservations about joining a team with more stars than the Andromeda Galaxy.
The Germany youth star, one of the most highly-rated young talents in the Bundesliga, was contacted by the 2021 Champions League finalists regarding a potential move to England.
But the attack-minded teenager obviously felt that his development would have been better served staying in Germany, given the Bundesliga’s superb track record when it comes to turning budding youngsters into established stars.
Was Luca Netz right to turn down Man City?
“I think it’s nonsense to join Manchester City at such a young age,” explained Netz, who joined Borussia Monchengladbach last summer in a near £4 million deal from top-flight rivals Hertha BSC Berlin.
“Even if I were to get another offer (from City) now, I would turn it down. I have a plan. It’s just too early for the Premier League.”
The irony, of course, is that left-back has become something of a problem position for Guardiola in the last five years, even if the right-footed Joao Cancelo does appear to have made the starting spot his own this term.
Netz, meanwhile, has featured in five out of a potential seven Bundesliga games this term, immediately establishing himself as a regular under new ‘Gladbach coach Adi Hutter.
“It’s important for me to play for Borussia, gain experience and to develop. Then we will see what happens in a few years,” Netz added.
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