While one Manchester City player, Frank Lampard, will not reach MLS until the summer transfer window, it appears New York City FC have landed a younger model for the start of their inaugural MLS campaign.
The New York Daily News reported on Thursday that 20-year-old Manchester City and England youth international defender Shay Facey, who has been training with NYCFC throughout the preseason, has agreed to a loan deal with the club. There has been no official word from NYCFC regarding the move.
Facey, who turned 20 in January, has been a regular at center back for Jason Kreis in New York City's preseason matches. He recently told the Manchester City website how much he has grown from training with NYCFC.
"For me, it's been great to train with players who are quite physical and of a high standard," Facey said. "The style is very similar to what I'm used to at City, too, because Jason likes to have lots of possession and pass out from the back a lot – which is really helpful for me. What Jason asks us to do is not too alien to anybody, so everyone's catching onto it, and I think it's working well, playing that style of football."
Facey has played for England at several youth age levels and represented Manchester City in the U-21 Premier League and the 2013-14 UEFA Youth League.
In fact, he played against Orlando City's Portugal youth internationals, Estrela and Rafael Ramos, when Manchester City faced Benfica in a March 2014 quarterfinal. Benfica won that match on a late Estrela goal.
