GOAL profiled Manchester City academy player Floyd Samba after Enzo Maresca named him as the side's lone striker against AEK Athens in the Champions League. The 17-year-old central midfielder started the home match as City won 5-1, before coming off in the 63rd minute without a goal involvement.
Start against AEK Athens
Erling Haaland made the squad for the home match against Athens but spent the full 90 minutes on the bench with a slight knock. Antoine Semenyo was injured a few days earlier and was set to be out for weeks. Maresca said Samba had "played a good game overall" against AEK Athens. Ryan McAidoo and Kaden Braithwaite also came on against AEK Athens, and Maresca described the three academy players as good.
Move into attack
Samba had also started against Norwich City in mid-September in the Carabao Cup, when he again played as a striker. He scored twice in Manchester City's 5-0 win over Norwich City. Maresca said: "When I decided in the last three or four days to play him as a number nine, I asked him whether he had ever played as a striker before. He said he had never done it. But I think he can do it. He is certainly not a number nine, but he was good."
After that, Samba returned to the youth set-up and waited more than a month for his third call-up to the senior squad. He was absent from the teamsheet for Manchester City's 2-1 league defeat to Aston Villa. GOAL said Samba had another chance of minutes against Brighton in the League Cup on Wednesday evening because Haaland was one of five City players being rested and left out of the squad.
Family and international background
Samba was born in Macclesfield and has been with Manchester City since under-nine level. His older brother Tyrone plays as a left winger for Manchester City's under-21s. Tyrone was on the bench once in the Champions League last season and watched Floyd as a spectator on Tuesday. Twelve-year-old Emerson Samba is also under contract, according to GOAL. GOAL said Floyd Samba's father is Christopher Samba, who has 171 Premier League appearances and 20 Bundesliga appearances for Hertha BSC.
Samba has German citizenship. Under coach Hanno Balitsch, he made his debut for Germany's under-19 national team shortly after his two goals against Norwich, having previously played for England youth sides. GOAL said Samba is also eligible for France and Congo.
What has been said
According to Sky, Manchester City were considering a winter loan for Samba, although no solution currently appeared to be emerging. Samba said: "A debut like that is simply amazing, I could hardly believe it. This is only the beginning; I have a big career ahead of me." Samba also said he and Emerson still regularly play football in the garden at home: "Things get really competitive."
