Manchester City young goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff has signed for Stockport County on loan but will return to the Blues this month
Oliver Whatmuff
Oliver Whatmuff
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Manchester City will use young goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff as they prepare for the new season - despite him joining Stockport County on loan. The season-long loan deal was announced on Wednesday, yet the teenager will likely be in Seoul rather than Stockport at the beginning of August as he is needed to bolster the goalkeeping ranks for Enzo Maresca.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will be available given Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup and third-choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli is free to travel. There is also interest in academy graduate Pierce Charles, who has been at Sheffield Wednesday for the last five years.
However, with No.2 James Trafford currently with England in the United States and City back for training in just over a fortnight, Whatmuff has been picked as the cover for the first team squad. He has started at Stockport but will report to City in the week of July 20th and is likely to head to Asia for their two-week tour.
If that shows how highly the 18-year-old is rated after he backed up his bold decision to go on loan last season by helping Rochdale to win promotion back to the Football League with a shootout victory at Wembley, it complicates his reunion with new Stockport manager Jimmy McNulty as County prepare for another promotion push in League One. City only return from South Korea on Monday August 10 and County's first league game is Saturday August 15, with an EFL Cup game to play before that.
The logistics of Whatmuff's start look complicated and that is less than ideal for a player heading to a new club hoping to make the best impression, but it is understood that Stockport were aware of the situation when they agreed the loan. McNulty, who managed the 'keeper at Rochdale last year, is delighted to have him on board again at his new club.
"Before working with him at my previous club, I believed he was an elite goalkeeper, and now after working with him for the season, that belief has only grown," McNulty said.
"He's a super talent, with a blend of attributes both in and out of possession which will really help the team. But what stands out even more is his mindset. He's a winner. His mentality is way beyond his years. That's what excites me about him the most."