Another young Blue heads to Belgium
Joel Ndala's time at Manchester City has come to a close. Cercle Brugge have confirmed the permanent signing of the 20-year-old winger for a reported fee of €900,000. The Belgian Pro League side announced the deal after reports of an agreement surfaced earlier this week.
Ndala joined City from Port Vale in 2016 as a ten-year-old. He rose through the academy ranks, registering 17 goals and eight assists in 41 appearances at U18 level. His pace and directness earned comparisons to Jeremy Doku during his youth days.
That promise never quite translated into senior football at the Etihad. Several loan spells followed — Jong PSV, Nottingham Forest, Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday. The most recent stint at Hillsborough ended early. Ndala made just eight appearances before dropping out of the side in April as the Owls' League One relegation campaign concluded.
He remains an England youth international, having represented his country at U16, U17, U18 and U20 levels.
Clear-out continues
Ndala is the latest academy player moved on this summer, joining Christian McFarlane and Mahamadou Sangare among those whose immediate futures have been settled. Enzo Maresca and Hugo Viana are trimming the squad, keeping only those with genuine pathways to first-team minutes at the Etihad.
Cercle Brugge play their home games at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges. They will be hoping Ndala's early reputation — the winger was once valued at around £2.5 million by journalist Sacha Tavolieri — can be revived in Belgian football. For City, it's another tidy piece of business and another young player given a fresh start.