Report: NYCFC trio Poku, Mullins, Allen to train with Manchester City

It’s not unusual for Major League Soccer players to get training stints with Premier League and other European clubs in the offseason.

But with the close relationship between Manchester City and New York City FC, any young players getting a look at the Etihad Stadium asks a closer view.

[ MORE: Guardiola heading to the PL ]

Young, of course, is a relative term here, but an Asbury Park Press story on Monmouth University graduate and NYCFC defender R.J. Allen says that he’s one of three New York players head to Man City for 10 days of training with the big club.

From the APP:

On Wednesday, Allen, along with teammates Patrick Mullins and Kwadwo Poku, head for Manchester City, one of NYC’s owners, where the trio will spend ten days training with one of the English Premier League’s top organizations, working in the same state-of-the-art facility as international superstars like Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure.

It’s an interesting trio going to Manchester. Allen, as the article points out, was out of soccer before signing with NYCFC, while Mullins was the 11th overall pick in the 2014 SuperDraft before being selected in the expansion draft by NYC.

Poku is the most interesting part of the story, as the electric soon-to-be 24-year-old attacking midfielder became quickly beloved in New York. Ghana-born, Poku got his American start with the Georgian Revolution of the NPSL in 2011, joining the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2014 before coming the New York.

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