Update: ‘Not the nicest’ – Life at 17 in cut-throat Man City squad was tough but it transformed my football outlook News

Life coming through the ranks at Manchester City is not easy, but the lessons learnt are vast.

Timi Sobowale was up at 2am looking at the sun beaming down on him.

There’s perhaps a metaphor to be had there on the sun not coming down yet on the young defender’s career despite his release from Manchester City at 20, a trans-Atlantic move that didn’t work out and a spell playing in Norway’s third tier.

It was in Scandinavia where Sobowale got things back on track and it was there where he witnessed 24-hour sunlight. He didn’t speak the language but it didn’t stop him from being an ever-present for Florø SK in a successful battle against the drop.

“What a country,” he reflects, speaking to the Manchester Evening News. “It was either snowing and hailing or sunny 24 hours a day.

“I played 40 games, probably every minute. It wasn’t the highest division but I could go and play all these games, I felt great, played great. We were in a relegation battle and we avoided it so it was a good experience.”

The path from City prospect to Norway’s third tier is not well-trodden but then Sobowale hasn’t done anything by the book. Now at Curzon Ashton in the National League North, he arrived at City from his native Ireland, wide-eyed and excited. It was a dream move, even if the reality was anything but dreamy.

“The jump was massive,” Sobowale admitted. “You don’t get better than Man City and the way they play is very much pass, pass, pass, so you have to be good.

“I was playing with Cole Palmer, Traff (James Trafford), James McAtee, Felix Nmecha. It was a very talented group.

“I had joined and in my first training session they had someone in from Ajax on trial in my position. And the mentality was ‘get used to it’. Just because they have you, they are always looking for the next one.”

And it wasn’t just competition from potential arrivals, the driven in-house mentality was also tough to adapt to.

“My group, in terms of egos and personalities, wasn’t perhaps the nicest,” he said. “Now they are good people because everyone has grown up but in that period it was tough to get in and gel with them and I didn’t feel they were my friends.

“It was more the mentality of ‘I want to get to the first team, you’re not going to get in my way’. It was more cultural and perhaps wasn’t the best environment. It was good in that I have taken resilience and I know how to handle people, it’s taught me different things. If someone new came to our changing room there is no way that I wouldn’t say hi to them or try and make them feel welcome. If you went into that changing room (at City) when I was younger then if you don’t go and speak to someone they will leave you.”

There were challenges before it even came to stepping onto the pitch. And out on the training ground it didn’t get any easier. The sessions themselves were a step up in quality and Sobowale, by his own admission, was a fish out of water.

“At first you didn’t know what was going on in training,” he recalled. “You have never done these possession drills, you have to be so clean, tidy and crisp. When I first got there I was struggling but after the first year I knew what to do. The tempo and what you need to do is so different to anywhere else.

“My time didn’t go as planned but it taught me a lot, technical stuff – the way I see football is completely different. I thought I was a good player when I went there and realised I wasn’t that good! Technically, if I didn’t have that upbringing I don’t know where I would be in terms of handling the ball, passing, it taught me loads.”

Sobowale was a regular in his first season at the Etihad, playing for a talented Under-18 group that won the Premier League Cup. But he didn’t feature as often in his second season and went on trial at Blackburn Rovers. When his professional contract ended in 2021, it was time to move on.

The youngster had options but, after chatting with staff at City and being presented with an opportunity to move to America, he took the plunge and joined Real Salt Lake in the MLS, playing for their affiliate side Real Monarchs in the third tier.

The learning continued.

“Looking back it probably set me back a couple of years,” said Sobowale. “I signed a two-year contract and couldn’t get my Visa because of Covid.

“I got there and the altitude killed me off and there was a massive adjustment period. I don’t think I met their expectations but I needed time to adjust and there was a bit of turmoil there.

“I am glad I had the experience but in terms of progression and wanting to better yourself, then moving to League One or League Two would probably have been better for me.”

It’s there where Sobowale wants to get to. He’s a regular for a Curzon side chasing promotion to the National League while his older brother, Tunmise, is playing for Swindon Town in League Two. The pair regularly swap notes and Sobowale hopes to kick on.

“I want to push as far as I can, I want to get back into the Football League and I think I can do it. I want to play games and keep progressing,” he added.

“Everyone’s journey is different and I am grateful for my journey. I had no idea about the non league system, I came over and thought if I didn’t make it in the Premier League I wasn’t going to make it in football. But I am making a career here. This division has taught me a lot, there’s a lot of dark arts!”

From the light of Norway to the dark arts of Tameside. Sobowale had a difficult start at City, but he’s far from finished yet.