Man City’s transfer fee for 16-year-old Irish goalkeeper really shows their faith in him

Michael Corry

A lot has been written and said about the talents of Gavin Bazunu, and that’s been reflected in the fee paid by Manchester City for the youngster.

The Premier League holders forked out a staggering £420,000 for the 16-year-old, a record paid for an amateur Irish player.

The young goalkeeper has been highly sought after since making his debut for Shamrock Rovers at the beginning of the season when he kept four consecutive clean sheets in the League of Ireland and Europa League qualifiers.

The 16-year-old has been generating interest from a number of top-level clubs including Celtic, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as clubs across Europe.

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It initially look like the goalkeeping prodigy would make the move to North London. Shamrock Rovers have had a working relationship with Tottenham ever since the two clubs where grouped together in the 2011 Europa League. However, Man City’s bid proved to be too persuasive for the Tallaght based club to turn down.

Former Cork City player Dave Barry recently highlighted that Bazunu was an amazing talent, worthy of a professional contract but he personally would have wanted him to stay in Ireland until he had completed his leaving cert.

“This boy was unbelievable on the night. He was exceptional,” said Barry on Soccer Republic.

“There was 3,700 at the game so he wasn’t playing at an empty stadium – he was right in front of The Shed.

“For a 16-year-old, he’s doing his Leaving Cert, not this year, next year. I would like to see for his own career, stay here, play European football.”

The Telegraph has confirmed though that an official joining date has not been set because Bazunu wants to complete his Leaving Cert in conjunction with playing for City.