A former England youth international has swapped the Premier League for a university lecture hall.
Han Willhoft-King is studying a law degree at Oxford's Brasenose College after leaving Manchester City.
Willhoft-King is studying law at Oxford after spells at Tottenham and City
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Willhoft-King is studying law at Oxford after spells at Tottenham and CityCredit: Getty
The 19-year-old had trained with Pep Guardiola's first-team during his time with the club.
Willhoft-King joined City's Under-21 side in September last year - two months after leaving Tottenham Hotspur.
He had been with the north London club since the age of six after being spotted playing grassroots football for TFA.
Arsenal starlets Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were amongst his teammates at the local youth side.
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Once at Spurs, Willhoft-King progressed through the academy before being coached by Premier League winner Yaya Toure.
He also spent time in first-team training sessions during Antonio Conte's tenure.
Meanwhile, the midfielder was capped twice by England at under-16 level back in 2021.
However, injuries regularly disrupted the teenager's development at both Spurs and City.
They included a four-month lay-off last term shortly after moving to the Etihad Stadium.
Willhoft-King admits that the injuries were not the only reason why he chose his studies over a potential professional football career.
The former England youth international joined Spurs aged six and trained with the club's first-team
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The former England youth international joined Spurs aged six and trained with the club's first-teamCredit: Shutterstock
He told The Guardian: "I wasn’t enjoying it. I don’t know what it was, maybe the environment. I’m bored often, as well.
"You’d train, you’d come home and you wouldn’t really do anything. If you contrast it to now, I’m struggling to find hours in the day.
"I’m either studying, going out with friends, playing for the university first team, also my college.
"I always felt under-stimulated in football. Don’t get me wrong. I still loved it. But I always felt I could be doing more. I was wasting hours of the day.
"I needed something different and Oxford excited me; the people, too. I guess that’s the reason.
"Injuries were a big factor but that’s the easy answer. I felt I needed something a bit more, mainly intellectually, which sounds quite pretentious.
Willhoft-King admits he 'wasn't enjoying it' after ending his Premier League career
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Willhoft-King admits he 'wasn't enjoying it' after ending his Premier League careerCredit: Shutterstock
"Say I had a career in League One or the Championship, you make good money. But how much would I enjoy it? In my head I wasn’t sure.
"Also, best-case scenario, you’ll play for 10, 15 years and after that, what? I thought going to university would provide a platform for me to do something at least for longer than the next 10 to 15 years. So, it’s a bit of a long-term thing, as well."
Willhoft-King made the decision to apply for universities at the start of last season, with Oxford amongst them.
He was then offered a place at the school in January following an interview.
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His place was ultimately secured after completing his A-levels earlier this year.
Willhoft-King achieved grades of A*, A*, A in maths, economics and history.