Pep Guardiola splashes out £175k record transfer fee for a 13-year-old starlet

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has given the all-clear for the signing of Southend United youngster Finley Burns in a record-breaking deal.

According to The Times, Burns has become the most expensive 13-year-old footballer ever as City have splashed out £175,000 to sign him.

Although some will argue that it’s far too early in his career to be moving to such a big club when he should have continued his development at Southend, Guardiola and City are evidently wasting no time in taking the top young players in the country to the club.

As per the report, the deal was announced last week with discussions continuing since the end of last year, and Burns could end up costing £250,000 if he goes on to sign a professional contract with the Premier League giants.

Nevertheless, it’s a huge amount of pressure on the youngster’s shoulders and he’ll have to cope with that as he now moves up the ladder.

Given City’s commitment to developing young players though with their state-of-the-art football academy facility and recruitment drive to sign the top starlets, it will only help him improve and develop his all-round game moving forward.

With Guardiola’s history of promoting youth too, it appears as though it’s a sensible move for the most part, as City are excelling at various youth levels.

However, not only will they look to become a force through the youth levels, but they’ll also be focused on ensuring that many of these youngsters make it through to the senior squad.

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